Untitled
by Jayne Foyer
Summary: At twelve years old, Sasuke Uchiha lost control and nearly destroyed his village. Fifteen years later, Naruto and Sakura are just about settled down, their relationship beginning to get serious. Then an old friend shows up, and nothing is the same.
1. Chapter 1

_Bang._

Sakura stared as he continued to scream at them. Naruto, Kakashi, everyone was trying to hold him back, trying to restrain him, but he couldn't be contained. He was an Uchiha. She shivered as his cold red eyes passed over her. He grinned manically and shot out to her. Feeling his arm tighten around her throat, she gasped quietly.

_Bang_.

"Stop! All of you stop, or I'll kill her! I will! Watch me!" he screamed at them. Sakura felt her eyes well up with tears. "Don't any of you move!"

"Sakura, talk some sense into him!" yelled Naruto at her. She nodded and, closing her eyes, took a deep breath.

_Bang._

"Sasuke, Sasuke, what are you doing?" she asked, then was cut off from going on by his arm squeezing her neck tighter.

"Shut up! Shut up Sakura!" he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. He laughed. "Look at them! _Look at them Sakura!_ See how they're waiting? They're waiting to see if you can talk to me, and when they see you can't, that no one can, they'll come, thinking I won't kill you, but you know I will, don't you? Don't you …"

_Bang._

His grip on her tightened and his cheek rubbed against hers. "_Sakura_," he hissed. Sakura swallowed and tried not to cry out as the sharp blade he was pressing against her throat pierced her skin. She began to freely sob, not caring who saw, not caring that Sasuke, her Sasuke, the one she loved, was holding her tight.

_Bang._

Their tears mingled for a moment, then he shivered and whispered, "It is - not my intention - to hurt you_._" Sakura, trembling in his arms, felt his grip loosen slightly.

"Then…what is your intention?" she whispered back hoarsely. He was still for a moment, then let her go, kicking her forward.

"Alright!" he cried. "I'll be done! You've driven me here, you've driven me to this, with your blindness and idiocy, and now I'm done!" He glared at the assembly of ninjas before him. "One act," he muttered. "One act and then I will be done…" He grinned and pulled out a scroll. Tension building, nobody daring to move, he took the scroll in two hands, bowed gracefully, and ripped it in half.

_BANG._

As Sasuke Uchiha rose above the Hidden Leaf Village, seeing his comrades for what might have been the last time, a huge explosion was set off in the most crowded section of the village. All but two of the ninja rushed off to that section…one girl and one boy stayed and stared at the sky.

Sakura Haruno stayed where she was, lying on the ground, sobbing. Sasuke had done this. The Sasuke she had mooned over, the Sasuke who had never cared for her, he had just destroyed the village and killed hundreds of innocent people, and had almost killed her…

Naruto Uzumaki, on the other hand, stood there stonily, staring up into the sky, trying to understand. Sasuke had cracked. He had attacked the village, setting off explosions, killing people, and everyone, every ninja in the village couldn't stop him.

Through all his thoughts, there was one thing he really wondered. Even pondering his life, Sasuke's life, their friendship, throughout it all, all Naruto could really wonder was _why?_ He knew it was his fault – it had to be. He had failed.

He dropped to his knees and screamed to the heavens, "_WE LOVED YOU SASUKE! YOU BELONGED HERE..." _His face fell into his arms, and, as day faded to dusk, the two remaining members of Team 7 cried for their teammate, their partner, their _friend._

_**Fifteen Years Later**_

**Chapter One**

"I expect every one of you to be able to produce an able clone by Monday!" I reminded the students as the filed out of the classroom. Smiling softly, I ignored all the ill-disguised whispers of, "Sakura-sensei is _so unfair_!" A few of the girls shyly offered me a flower, and I smiled at them and set it on my desk, thanking them. They hurried out to their families and I picked up a stack of papers I needed to read and sign and organize and such, but stopped at a sound at the door. "Come in," I said, amused. Naruto poked his head in and grinned.

"So how many students hate you now?" he asked, stepping in and leaning against the wall. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"Most of them – but hey, I got a flower!" I said, holding it up. His grin widened and he held up an apple.

"Good for you, but _I_ got an apple," he said, throwing it up and catching it over and over again. I smiled and nodded at him.

"Shut up," I muttered, amused. He shrugged and put the apple away. It was silent for a moment – but not awkwardly. In the fifteen years since we were kids, the feeling of awkwardness had evaporated. I continued to gather some more papers, and when I stood back up again that stupid grin was gone from Naruto's face and he was staring out the window longingly. I raised an eyebrow. "Naruto…" I said, jerking him from his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry…" he paused. "Sakura," he began. "How about we go on a little…mission of sorts?" I raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"What kind of mission?" I asked. He ambled over to me and shrugged.

"Oh I don't know…maybe one that goes to a beach," he said. I let out a little sigh and shook my head.

"You know there's no beaches anywhere near here," I told him, continuing to organize papers. He shrugged.

"That's why it's a mission. We could leave tomorrow, be there in the late afternoon, spend the night there and be back no later than four o'clock Sunday." I paused at this solid reasoning. It made sense, even sounded fun. I glanced at him, and grinned.

"I don't know. Iruka'll be seriously pissed at us if we don't have the squads finished by Monday," I said smartly. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"We're almost finished anyways – just pick them at random," he said, laughing. I smiled slightly as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. "C'mon Sakura…let's just have a few days off…you…me…the beach…" he whispered. I sighed.

"Okay. I'll go," I relented. He beamed and I laughed at his enthusiasm. "But both you and I have got to do some serious work tonight to get the squad assignments done!" He rolled his eyes and grabbed some papers.

"Alright, these three can go with Kakashi, these are now assigned to Kurenai, and I think Chouji can take care of these," he announced, throwing done papers as he did so. I shook my head.

"You know it's more than that. Let's go – and pick those papers up!" He did as he was told and we walked back to our apartments together, saying a polite hello to whoever said hello to us automatically. Oh, the skills born from being a teacher…

I smiled as we approached our place. We'd been living together for about a year now, and I noticed, almost comically, that Naruto was the one who was keeping the place from falling into a disaster area. What can I say? I'm a natural-born mess-maker.

We sat down at the table together. "Here," he said. "That's my analysis on each and every one of the students. Find some flaw, I dare you." I smiled and opened the folder. There, in his messy scrawl of handwriting, were the student's names and half a page of who they are. I tried not to act surprised, but I was amazed at how in-depth it was. I flipped through a couple of them at first, then grabbed one.

"Kajitsu Hyuuga – determined, short attention span (distracted easily – shiny things must be avoided at all costs). Has possible potential (what Hyuuga doesn't), very patient when tries," I read aloud. "You're great at this, Naruto." He laughed and shrugged.

"I try, I try," he said modestly. I laughed and set the folder down.

"Okay, and here," I said, holding out another folder. "Is my analysis of each of the student's strengths." I handed it to him and he flipped through them.

"Psh, some of this stuff is ridiculous, Sakura," he informed me, shaking my head. I rolled my eyes.

"Well thanks for the encouragement."

"Okay," he began. "I'll sort the kids into squads according to personality and you sort them according to strength level, and then we'll discuss any issues. Alright?" he asked. I nodded. Silently, we started our tasks. I tried to balance out the squads, but not to the extent of our old group – which I'll always remember as a lesson in squad placement more than anything else.

My mind began to wander. Sasuke Uchiha – I hadn't seen him other than in the picture in my room for, what, fifteen years now? I could barely recall what he looked like. But I remember what I was like. A pompous, stuck up jerk. Or maybe that was Sasuke. I'll have to ask Naruto sometime, he remembers every little detail of those times.

I shook my head and quickened my pace. Naruto took his time placing squads, but he was almost finished already. He seriously wanted to go to the beach. I finished in a neutral mood, ignoring the memory of Sasuke and old times resurfacing.

Naruto began to present the squads he had, and I agreed on a few of them, but a couple were outright outrageous. He thought the same of my squads.

Eventually, though, all of them were sorted. Knowing Kakashi, we sorted the toughest and smartest in his squad. He'd try the bell training on them. And if I were nicer, I would probably tip them off.

But we got through it. They should be able to.

By that time it was absolutely finished, it had been another three hours since we left. I laughed, amazed at our pace. "Wow," I said. "That was quick." Naruto grinned.

"We're so hardcore." I laughed and nodded, agreeing. We locked eyes for a moment, then he smiled. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" he asked. I smiled and nodded. He took me by the hand and we went to some small ramen store to have dinner.

Once we had gotten our food, however, Naruto didn't eat. He just stared into his bowl, swirling the contents around.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He looked up, frowning. For a moment, he looked confused, then he shook his head and sighed.

"It's nothing Sakura." He smiled. "Eat up!"

Slightly concerned for him, I nodded and we finished our meal. He held my hand as we leisurely walked around the village, seeing the sights of Konoha at night. The moon was high in the sky when I noticed Naruto was gravitating towards the woods, staring into the distance. I sighed and stopped walking. He didn't even notice.

"Naruto," I said reasonably. He didn't move. "Naruto!" I repeated, squeezing his hand slightly. He turned to look at me, with a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh, hi Sakura."

"What's wrong? I'm not blind, I can see that your head isn't here," I told him, locking my arms around his neck. He slipped his arms around my waist and bit the inside of his lip.

"Okay…it's just…alright, this is going to make me sound like an idiot, but do you realize what day it is?" he asked seriously. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…Friday?" I asked.

"Yes, that too, but…fifteen years ago today. Don't tell me you can't even remember the date," he said. I thought for a moment, then shook my head.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I really have no idea what you're talking about," I told him, shrugging. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on…you were always the one who couldn't let it go…" he murmured, turning his head to look back at the forest. I closed my eyes, trying to make the connection, then frowned.

"Sasuke?" I asked. He nodded solemnly. "It's been fifteen years. You still remember the date?" I asked skeptically. He nodded again. "Wow Naruto." He glanced back at me.

"Whatever Sakura."

It was silent for a moment, then I said, "I'm guessing you want to go visit the-"

Without even letting me finish, he let go of my waist and entwined his fingers in mine, strolling off towards the forest. He didn't stumble once on his way, and when we got there he let go of my hand and brushed his fingers across the carving.

It was a tree. There was 'TEAM7 – KAKASHI, NARUTO, SAKURA, SASUKE –FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS' carved into the bark and a picture nestled into the roots of the tree. I smiled as he stared at it.

"…it seems so long ago, doesn't it?" I asked quietly.

"It was a long time ago," said Naruto, unfazed. When we were kids, I never understood the bond between Naruto and Sasuke, but I think I have a little glimpse now. Watching Sasuke leave like that made Naruto feel so helpless, made him realize how much of a failure it was to lose him.

After a moment, I felt a hand on my shoulder and, turning around, I saw our old sensei, Kakashi. He raised an eyebrow towards Naruto and I nodded. We were friends now, no more student-teacher relationship. Age obviously had taken its toll on him, but he was still going on as a sensei, however much we pester him to quit.

I wonder why, after fifteen years, none of us could let it go. We were clinging onto something, I don't know what, but we wouldn't let it slip out of our grasp.

It was silent again, but a different kind of silence than before. Still, it wasn't awkward, but it was loud now. It pressed down on the three of us, accusing us, pointing out what we did wrong. I shivered at the intensity of it all.

"Naruto," I muttered, putting a hand on his back. He turned around and sighed.

"Funny, isn't it," he began, looking between Kakashi and I. "Fifteen years and this thing's still standing."

He meant more than that, but nothing more was said. Eventually, Naruto left with me, after saying goodbye to Kakashi. As we walked back, Naruto had a strange expression on his face. Only in the recent years had that face developed. When we were twelve-year old kids with hopes and dreams, he never had that face on.

Naruto was thinking.

Once we reached our little house (more of an apartment, but the real estate agent insisted we call it a _house_), Naruto kissed me quickly then muttered about going to turn in the papers to Iruka. I nodded, knowing it was more than that, and stepped into the house, shivering. Although winter wasn't officially supposed to come for a while now, it could get pretty cold. I settled down to read a book until Naruto came back.

In less than a minute, there was a light knock on my door. I got up and frowned, thinking it was Naruto. He has a key; why would he need to knock? I figured it might be some student's parent or something like that.

So I guess that's why I was slightly surprised when I saw Sasuke Uchiha standing on my doorstep. I blinked. "Either I'm dreaming, or someone's playing a _really_ unfunny prank on me," I said, stepping aside and letting him in.

"Neither, Sakura," he said grimly. I laughed.

"Oh no, Naruto, what is this?" I asked. "Do you think showing up as Sasuke will make me respect the way you can't let it go?" Sasuke frowned.

"What?" he asked.

I sighed and said, "Not you, Naruto? Then dang, when did I fall asleep?" I muttered. Sasuke shook his head.

"Sakura Haruno, look at me," he demanded. I did so skeptically. "Tell me, has it been so long you don't even recognize me when I come to you?" I laughed and shook my head.

"Well, Sasuke Uchiha, I recognize you very well, but there's just two things logically wrong with you being here. Number one, you would never talk that much, especially to me. Number two, I believe you're dead. Sorry," I told him, shrugging. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'd never say this much? So you don't remember the day I left?" he asked. I shook my head, grinning.

"Hmm, slightly. I think you scarred me for life, but that's okay. We visited our little memorial to you today but – no offense – I wasn't really thinking memories," I said, still not believing it was the real Sasuke.

He shook his head and said, "Sakura, I suddenly appear, expecting you to faint or at least say you missed me, and all I get is you telling me you think I'm dead and that you didn't even _think _of me at the memorial _you_ made for me!" I stopped and laughed.

"You know, it _is_ funny, if you think about it." He looked at me, eyes rolling.

"I forgot how _annoying _you are," he said in a voice that made something inside of me click. I turned to look straight at his face and turned white.

"Oh my God. You're back…" I whispered. He grinned evilly.

"Finally. Yes I am." Trembling, I sat on my bed. He stood there, above me, looking like he was above all humanity. I swallowed and stared at him.

"I thought you were dead," I told him, putting a hand up to my forehead. He shrugged and nodded.

"You've mentioned that."

In half a second, I stood up and, with all the power I had, I slapped him across the face.

With a _poof_ of smoke, he turned into a log.

I sighed and said out loud to basically no one, "Why do I keep mistaking logs for people?" There was a shout outside and I hurtled out of the door. I wrapped my arms around myself, seeing nothing. And then, from out of nowhere, Naruto stormed up to me, threw one arm around my waist and kissed me. My hands went up into his hair and I kissed him passionately back, until, after what felt like forever in heaven, he pulled away and looked, smirking, at someone standing a few yards away, staring stonily at us.

"_See_," hissed Naruto. "We got over it. We got over you. You hurt us, Sasuke, but we got over it. We're happy now. Not because you left, but because we got on with our lives. Try it. Or, better yet, _get _a life, instead of crawling back here and expecting us to worship you." I stared at Naruto, eyes wide, then to Sasuke, who was still glaring at us, looking slightly hurt.

"You think I care? You think I care that you, you of all people, took advantage of her when she was still recovering from loving _me_?" he began. My jaw dropped and I shook my head fiercely.

"I never loved you!" I said, a little too loudly, my grip around Naruto tightening. "Never! And just because _you _would have done that to me doesn't mean that Naruto would!" Naruto nodded, responding by holding me closer to him.

"_Don't_ drag yourself into this Sakura!" Sasuke screamed at me, turning slightly red. I glared at him.

"Then stop lying to yourself!" I said, wildly improvising. He stared at me for a moment, as if wanting to say something, then looked away. Naruto let out a hollow bark of laughter.

"You disgust me, Sasuke…" he paused for a moment. "_Loser."_ Sasuke looked up, stung. I swallowed and nodded.

"What…" he forced out. "What did I do?"

"What did you do?" I asked, not believing he just said that. I pushed Naruto away gently and stalked up to Sasuke. "Well, for one, you _killed _people! Innocent people! Parents, children, brothers, sisters, _friends_!" I hissed.

"Do you even know why?" he asked angrily. I was silent. "You _don't_! Even after fifteen years, _neither one of you has figured out why!_"

"You're just like your brother!" said Naruto suddenly. "You did _exactly _what he did, didn't you? You murdered. You massacred, you're just like him!" Sasuke clenched his teeth and shook his head.

"I am _not_!" he replied, trembling and clenching his fists. I frowned.

"What do you mean, Naruto?" I demanded sharply. He slipped an arm around me, coming up behind me, and I smirked as he faced Sasuke.

"His brother. Itachi Uchiha. Killed his whole clan. I thought you knew, Sakura," he said, shrugging. My eyes widened.

"Ha! You know _nothing _about me, my old friends! Nothing!" he said defiantly, as if to prove something. I shook my head and stared at him.

"He hasn't changed, has he Naruto?" I asked, staring straight at Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes and Naruto nodded.

"You're right. Unlike either of us, he's the same as when he left…" He paused. "_Snobbish_," he began. "_Self-centered," _he said, punctuating each word with a gentle squeeze of his arms around me. "And _pathetic,_" he finished. Sasuke, flushed, glared at us with poison emanating from his eyes.

For a moment, his eyes flickered red, but he sighed and relented, his shoulders sagging.

"I apologize. You two are right. I did some completely stupid things, I am _just like him_, I haven't changed, but I had to come back. I missed this place, almost as much as I hated it," he murmured, staring at the ground. I blinked. "Too many years away, away from something I don't even know, but it's just been _too long_." I stared at the ground.

"You know…you know that neither of us can ever forgive you for what you did to us," muttered Naruto, holding me tighter than ever. I nodded in agreement.

"I do know. I've spent years hating myself, trying to at least glimpse how much you must hate me," replied Sasuke. I shook my head.

"That's just it," I said quietly.

"We _don't_ hate you," finished Naruto. Sasuke looked up, as if we had just hit him with something blunt and heavy. I smiled softly for a moment. "We never hated you, Sasuke. And although we can't forgive the Sasuke we knew, I'm, at least, willing to give this Sasuke another try." I nodded gently and Naruto stepped towards Sasuke. "So what do you say? Should we start over?" Naruto said, holding out his hand.

For a long moment, Sasuke stared at Naruto's hand. Finally, he took it, and smiled. "Thank you." Naruto grinned and nodded.

"No problem, Uchiha."

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Man, this story is from a LONG time ago. I was talking to my sister on deviantArt, when I found this story on my desktop. I read it over, and I was like, holy crap this is pretty good.

I found Naruto channeling Edward Cullen a little in this story, even though I wrote this before I even ever heard of Twilight. I..._dislike_...Twilight, so this frightens me somewhat. :D

Review, as always. Constructive criticism is like cookies! You never can get enough!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I waited patiently outside the Lady Tsunade's office, repeating in my head what I was going to say. Ask her if she knew about Sasuke, what if he came back, you know. That sort of thing. I was prepared for whatever she could throw at me.

Finally, someone inside said, "Come in," and I obliged. Opening the door and entering humbly, I stood before Tsunade.

"Good morning Lady Tsunade," I said as a greeting, smiling at her. She smiled slightly back, and I was relieved at the way I was taken.

"Good morning Sakura," she replied. I bowed slightly and took a deep breath, preparing myself.

"As our Hokage, I'm sure you are aware of a certain Sasuke Uchiha who, fifteen years ago, almost destroyed our village," I paused and she nodded. "I'm curious to know what would happen to him if, somehow, he was recovered, or he returned to the village." She nodded continually, thinking.

"Sasuke Uchiha. I've heard many stories about him, some even from you. I know _you _are aware that, after he almost burned this village to the ground, the Sound and Sand villages attacked us in one of darkest hours in the history of the Leaf. In that battle, countless people, including your mother, and our former Hokage, the Third, were killed. If this Uchiha came back, do you think the people of the Leaf would take him lightly?" she asked. I shook my head, slightly disappointed. "But," she began, and I looked up. "He was just a child then, correct? How old was he, ten?"

"Twelve," I corrected meekly. She waved me off.

"Doesn't matter. Do you believe people change, Sakura?" she asked me, leaning in. I nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes, I do!" I said hurriedly. She slumped back.

"I don't. But I do believe people mature. And this Sasuke, if he were to come back, would have had fifteen years outside of our village. Plenty of time to mull over what he did, plenty of time to feel regret. Understand?" she said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I don't think I'm quite following…" I said, frowning slightly. She sighed and stared at me.

"Your old friend destroyed families," she said, leaning leisurely back in her chair. "Many people are dead because of him, many children were left parentless. People are not going to like him being back. But. If we announced him publicly and he _showed _to people that he had grown up, that he wasn't the kid that did those terrible things, then maybe, just maybe, the people could begin to forgive him." I smiled and thanked her, turning to leave. "But Sakura," she said, just before I left.

"Yes?"

"It would probably just be easier to keep him in hiding for the time being. But I'd like to meet him, if you can manage that."

"Yes Lady Tsunade."

I left, slightly troubled that she knew. Had I said anything that revealed it? No. Nothing. Yet she knew.

Hmm.

Today was a Saturday, and as I walked through the village to our place, where I knew Naruto and Sasuke would be waiting, many students and parents greeted me. I stopped here and there for a conversation, knowing that it would piss Sasuke off if I were late, and that actually made it worth it.

Hmm. I have changed.

Anyways, I got back to my apartment in a good half-hour, unlocking the door and stepping into the small front room, where Sasuke and Naruto sat at opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"What happened?" I asked. Naruto stood up and stood next to me.

"He hasn't changed, Sakura, when you left it was like he was suddenly _twelve _again, and I _didn't do anything_, but it was like he exploded -"

"Come _on _Naruto don't be such a baby! Do you just _like _pretending you're an idiot, or have you not changed either?"

"Do you _want me_ to hurt you?"

"Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?"

"Alright, okay, _that's_ it!"

"_Stop_!" I shouted. They both quieted and glared at each other. "You two are both acting like children. It's uncanny to see that you both bring out the worst in each other." They looked like they were about to explode and I laughed. "My god, for a second there I felt like a team again!"

"Is that a _good_ thing?" growled Naruto. I laughed again.

"Grow up you guys. There's so much we have to handle in this _current_ situation, we don't need you two having sudden and violent flashbacks. Now listen," I said, and the boys did so grudgingly. "Um, apparently Lady Tsunade knows, for one," I began. Naruto rolled his eyes and Sasuke frowned.

"Who's Lady Tsunade?" he asked.

"Oh, you don't know do you? Well, after you, the Leaf was attacked, and in the battle against the Sand and Sound, the Third was killed. Lady Tsunade's our fifth Hokage." Sasuke looked stunned. Naruto laughed.

"Bet you're proud now, right Sasuke?" asked Naruto, grinning. Sasuke shoved him.

"Shut up."

"Alright!" I said, interrupting them. "Anyways, she said that the easiest course of action might just be to keep it all secret. If that proved too difficult, though, she said we could always have a sort of public announcement that you were back, but then you'd have to actually do stuff, like show people you're not pure evil."

"Well that would be lying though," murmured Naruto. Sasuke and I shot him identical glares of death and I looked Sasuke in the eye.

"What do you think?" I asked him seriously. He thought for a moment then sighed.

"The fact remains that either one of those plans would be harder and easier in some ways. It might be a little hard to keep this a secret, but on the other hand, we don't know how people will react if they still see me as a mad killer," he said grimly. I smiled and Naruto let out a chuckle. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Well _I've _never seen you as a mad killer, if that makes you feel any better," murmured Naruto. I laughed and Sasuke shook his head.

"_Thanks_," he said sarcastically.

"Sasuke I think that for the time being your presence here should be kept secret. Maybe after a while you could be revealed, but I have to say, you've been back a day, and although it seems you're the same, fifteen years is a long time," I said, shrugging.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the boys said simultaneously. I smiled.

"Ah, nevermind," I said, standing up. "I'm going out, okay? Naruto, you know what to do with him – right?" He nodded and smiled.

"Of course," he said. I smiled.

"See you two later then," I said, holding open the door for them. They left and I quickly changed into my workout clothes (sweat pants and a short top that went to about my belly button).

I ran for a while, thinking about everything. Sasuke had come back. And suddenly it's not such a big thing, we're like three friends again. After circling the village a few times, I slowed down, breathing hard, and stopped to stretch a while. A few minutes there and I realized where I was. It was where we had the bell training with Kakashi so many years before. I smiled, wondering how on earth I could remember it.

I slowly jogged back to the house, where I found the guys hanging out in the front room. I was passing through into the bedroom when Sasuke said something.

"What is _that_?" he asked incredulously. I twisted around to see what he was pointing at, then smiled.

"Oh, _that_. It's my tattoo," I told him, shrugging.

"_You got a tattoo?_" he asked, staring at it. I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. You like it?" I asked, showing it to him affectionately. "I got it about ten years ago. My eighteenth birthday. You remember that, don't you Naruto?" I asked, amused. He nodded, smiling.

"That was the _first_ time I proposed, right?" he asked. I nodded and laughed at Sasuke's face.

"Well it was the morning _after_ when you asked me, if I remember correctly," I told him, smiling. Sasuke looked between Naruto and me.

"You asked her to…" he stammered. I nodded, laughing.

"…To marry him, yes, he did," I finished his sentence. He looked absolutely stunned. Naruto laughed and went to stand next to me, putting his arm around me.

"And, being the smart one, she refused," said Naruto, grinning. Smiling, I nodded.

"We were only eighteen," I said. He nodded and shrugged. Sasuke continued to stare at us, dumbfounded.

"That's so weird. Completely weird," murmured Sasuke. I laughed.

"What can I say? We grew up!" I announced, pulling away from Naruto and shrugging. Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto has one too," I said, grinning and grabbing for the hem of Naruto's shirt, which I pulled up to reveal a tattooed eye with thorns circling around it. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Naruto pulled down his shirt, grinning but slightly red.

"Yeah, yeah, it was stupid, and now I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life," muttered Naruto. I laughed.

"Come on, _you_ were the one who convinced _me_," I chided. He nodded, still smiling.

I laughed, shaking my head and sparking the memory. Sasuke coughed softly and Naruto and I were brought back to present moment. "Sorry," I apologized, smiling. "There's so much you don't know."

"I've caught him up a little bit," offered Naruto. I turned to Sasuke and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, up to about ten seconds after I left," murmured Sasuke. I laughed.

"Of course. That's just so like you, Naruto," I said, rolling my eyes at Naruto. He laughed and shrugged. "Gimme a sec, guys," I said, darting into the master bathroom. I smiled to myself and took a quick shower, then changed into my regular clothes after I dried off. Facing a mirror, I grimaced and began to try to wrangle my hair. After what felt like countless minutes, I finally sighed, relented, and put it up in a side ponytail.

Gawd. I liked my hair better when I was twelve.

I smiled and walked back out to the front room. When I entered, there was a little shuffling of papers and the boys looked to me, absolutely silent. "What's up?" I asked, sitting down with them. They shrugged simultaneously.

"Not much," said Naruto. I eyed them suspiciously.

"You were doing something. I know you were doing something. What were you doing?" I asked, seeing the same face I saw on the faces of the kids who know they've broken the rules, but would refuse it, even under torture.

And yeah, _those_ are the kids who become the legendary ninjas everyone hears about.

"Nothing!"

I looked to Sasuke.

"Nothing."

I sighed, relenting. "Alright, apparently it's something you don't want me to know, so I'm not going to ask anymore. Happy?" The boys nodded. I paused. "So…what's our plan?" I asked.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at me. I looked at the both of them. "Well?"

"The hell do you mean by plan?" I rolled my eyes.

"I mean, how are we going to work this? To what lengths are we willing to go to hide Sasuke?" I asked. The boys paused, then shrugged. "Come on, do I have to come up with everything?" They nodded. I narrowed my eyes. "I should just leave you alone, let you figure out your own problems…"

"God no Sakura, we'd be dead before the days was over."

I laughed.

"You guys! At least try to be serious here, okay?"

They nodded. "Alright. So. Sasuke." He met my gaze. "Personally, I am of the opinion that you could fit into a crowd in you tried…no seriously, you look a lot different from back then…and no one's going to remember exactly what you look like…alright, Kakashi might…but he doesn't count…I mean, seriously, he's old…and we need to fix that hair…god, I would have hoped that cockatoo style might have been replaced with something more recent…apparently I was mis-"

"Sakura," Naruto interrupted me, looking amused. I flushed and smiled.

"Sorry, I zoned out a little bit right there. Anyways, what I was trying to say is that you don't have to, like, hide inside, but you shouldn't go out broadcasting you're back."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. That makes sense, I guess." He raised and hand up to his head gingerly. "And what's so wrong with my hair?"

Naruto and I laughed.

"Things have changed, Sasuke," said Naruto. "I mean, for example – remember Kiba Inuzuka?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah, well, ten years ago he decided he was a pacifist and quit being a ninja."

Sasuke's jaw dropped. "No way!"

I laughed. "I know! So now he's a stay-at-home-dad."

Sasuke did a double take.

"_What_?"

"He got married to Hinata Hyuuga six years ago," explained Naruto. "They have two girls."

Sasuke continued to gape. I laughed and shrugged.

"Like Naruto said, things have changed around here. I mean, here, what about Shino Aburame, remember him? Nobody ever expected anything that amazing from him, right? Yeah, well, he's the prime choice for the next Hokage."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto.

Naruto smiled ruefully and leaned back in his chair. "I'm guessing you remember my extensive oaths to become Hokage?"

Sasuke nodded tentatively.

"Obviously, those didn't work out."

Sasuke continued to stare at Naruto, as if waiting for him to say something more. Naruto sighed.

"Look, Sasuke, I like my life right now. I like where I am, I like who I'm with, and I like what I'm doing. I'm not about to blow it by going and doing something stupid."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Wow Naruto."

"What?"

"After all the speeches, all the promises, and all the insults deflected with that ambition, you've just gone and quit?"

Naruto suddenly stood up, white in the face. The chair he had been sitting on was knocked over. Sasuke slowed rose, so they were eye to eye.

I was overcome with a strange urge to laugh. They were _eye to eye_. Naruto had been, like, a foot shorter than Sasuke when we were kids. Apparently, Sasuke noticed this, because a look of surprise flitted over his face, then he returned to his usual cool composure.

"You're one to talk, Sasuke," said Naruto quietly. "Instead of just taking back a promise, though, you murdered people."

Sasuke cocked his head to one side. I stood up carefully.

"Yeah. Yeah, Naruto. That's the difference between you and me," replied Sasuke coldly. "You just let people stomp all over you, don't you?"

Naruto's hand twitched towards a kunai at his belt. Alarmed, I stepped between them. "You guys, come on, stop, this is stupid, you're just-"

"Stay out of this Sakura!" said Naruto loudly, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke. "I wouldn't want you getting hurt."

I looked at Naruto, then Sasuke, then Naruto, then Sasuke again. After a tense moment, I rolled my eyes and held out my arms so my hands were touching their chests.

"Stop it, you two. Can you just wipe the slate clean?" I asked them accusingly. At the silence, I sighed and said to Naruto, "Could you go out real quick? I need to talk to Sasuke." He raised an eyebrow and I mirrored his expression.

He turned on his heels and stepped outside the house. I watched him leave, then turned back to Sasuke. He met my eyes lazily.

I fell onto the chair and burst into tears.

"Woah," he said. "Woah, woah, Sakura…"

He sat next to me awkwardly. After I sobbed convincingly for half a minute, I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, I am, it's just… I wouldn't expect you to understand, but things have changed a lot since you were here. It's not the same between Naruto and I, and then you came and Sasuke," I looked at him pleadingly. "You're _ruining _it."

He looked bewildered.

"What? What am I ruining?"

I took a deep breath, annoyed, but I didn't let on.

"Have you not noticed? Sasuke, please! He's just changed so much, and he's so amazing, so different from them, and now that you're here he's, he's…" I trailed off, leaving the rest of my sentence to his imagination.

Sasuke frowned at the table. Then, glancing around, he leaned in a little closer and asked under his breath, "Is all this stuff you've been talking about true? Or have you just been making it up to teach me a lesson?"

I smiled sadly at him.

"Nothing stays the same in fifteen years, Sasuke Uchiha."

I stood, turning to get Naruto, when Sasuke stopped me.

"Wait…Sakura…" I turned around. "Last night, I know I told the both of you a lot…but I didn't tell you all of it."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I couldn't…not with Naruto right there. But to you…" He looked at my curiously. "I have noticed that you've changed. Naruto still infuriates me, as ever, but you…" He shook his head.

"What are you saying, Sasuke?"

"I'm saying," he said slowly. "That there are some things that Naruto can never know. Not because he wouldn't understand but…because of the way he'd look at me."

I looked at his face, and suddenly this memory surfaced. Looking into the twenty-seven-year-old Sasuke's face, I couldn't help seeing the twelve-year-old that I had had a crush on.

My heart softened immediately.

"Oh god," I whispered. In an instant, I was in front of him, real tears forming in my eyes. "God, Sasuke, why did you have to say that?" I murmured, pushing a lock of hair out of his face. He shivered slightly. I took no notice. "Now, listen to me," I said, taking him by the shoulders. "I understand that you have to keep some things to yourself. Everybody does…" I looked into his eyes. "But remember that if you ever need _anything, I will be here_. Okay?" I asked. He hesitated, then nodded.

I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight. He didn't do anything for a moment, then awkwardly put his arms around me as well.

"Sakura," he whispered while his lips were close to my ear. "I missed you."

I said nothing.

In that half a moment, the front door banged open and someone charged in.

Unfortunately, Sasuke and I didn't break apart _quite _fast enough.

"Dear Lord," said a voice. I retreated from Sasuke like I'd been stung. In her miniskirt and skanky top, my best friend Ino Yamanako stood there, gaping at us. "Holy crapcakes," she said, stunned. Naruto rushed in after her.

Ino looked between Naruto and me again and again. Then she stalked up to me and whispered, "_Does Naruto know about this guy_?"

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She jerked her head Naruto's way. "_Does he know you're sleeping with-"_

_"Ino!_" I said scathingly. "I am not sleeping with S- I mean, no, you have the wrong idea." She looked at me blankly for a moment, then looked at Sasuke and smiled sexily.

"Hey baby," she said. "What's your name?"

I sighed, grabbing Ino's ear. "What – the – hell?" I hissed, dragging her out of the room.

"Ow! Ow, Sakura, you're hurting me," she said, pouting. I rolled my eyes, dragging her outside.

"I know, that's the point!" I said, letting her go. "What do you think you're doing, just barging in like that?"

"So you admit you were _planning _to sleep together?"

"_No_! Ino, I was never planning on doing anything with Sasuke!"

I clapped both hands over my mouth as Ino stopped staring dreamily into the house and looked at me, serious. "What did you say?" she asked sharply.

"N-nothing, it's just nothing, I messed up - "

"You are _not _telling me that that sex _god _in there is Sasuke Uchiha!"

I nodded, giving up. "Yes, that's Sasuke Uchiha, but you cannot tell anyone. If you do, I will throttle you in your sleep," I added, just in case. She stared at me.

"Holy crapcakes," she repeated. "D'you mind if I take him home for a night or two?

"Ino," I said, appalled. "What about Shikamaru?"

"I already told you, we're not officially together – I mean, sure, we'll stay together for the kid, but we're seeing other people, remember?" she said absentmindedly. I snorted.

"Yeah, right, and the fact that he's been the one doing all the work for you while you're off flirting doesn't bother you at all?"

She thought for a moment. "No, not really."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Ino. But I have to get your word – don't tell anyone, okay? Not even whoever you're sleeping with now."

She waved her hand nonchalantly and peered back in the house, resting one hand on her swollen belly.

"D'you think he remembers me? I mean, I'm surprised I can remember him – I was such a friggin' bitch back then, wasn't I? Remember what I used to call you? What was it – Billboard Brow! God, that's hilarious! Good thing you've grown into your forehead, eh, Sakura?"

I stared at her, slightly amused, as she continued to ramble on about 'back then.'

"Okay, Ino, you have to go home. I have some things to deal with." She nodded vaguely, then turned to me sharply.

"Oh, by the way, Tenten's gotten back from her mission. Something's up, I can tell. That woman doesn't even know what a poker face is, I swear."

I laughed. "I'll talk to her. And now I'm going back inside, though, and you're going home to remind Shikamaru just how much you love him, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay I'm going…See you"

"See you," I said, slipping back into the house. Sasuke and Naruto were on opposite sides of the room, staring at anything but each other.

"Sakura," said Naruto when she entered the room. "Could I talk to you?" I nodded and he pulled me into the next room. "So," he said. "What did you do?"

"Well, I think we can safely say that I was pretty damn impressive."

"Did you cry?"

"Twice."

He grinned.

"That's my girl."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, it's not as good as my other stories. It's old, of course it's not going to be! Anyways, I really do love Naruto in this. He's great.

Don't forget to review! That's the only way to get better!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I groaned, not happy with the amount of light that was streaming into the bedroom. The sun should stay asleep until noon. Yeah.

Reluctantly, I sat up and glanced at the clock. Naruto mumbled something and tried to pull me down by the hand, but was too tired to actually accomplish anything. Naruto buried his head in the pillow and I smiled softly. For half a moment, I felt resentful that we hadn't slept underneath the stars at the beach together, but then I shook my head and remembered all about Sasuke.

Abandoning all hope of getting up, I slumped back into bed.

Naruto smiled, eyes still closed, still half asleep, and wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled up to him and muttered, "We have to get up."

"For what?"

"Mmhmm… I can't remember right now…but I know we have to get up…" I murmured. He let out a soft laugh.

"I agree."

It was silent.

I laughed and laid my head on his toned chest. He shifted slight under me and began, "You know… we were planning to go to the beach this weekend, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Well… we obviously didn't get to it… and I was wondering… well, while we were there I was going to ask you something… and I was thinking… since we're obviously not going …Sakura, will you- "

BOOM.

Naruto and I exchanged glances.

"What do you want to bet he blew up the kitchen?" I murmured, slowly sitting up and swinging my legs out of bed. Naruto hesitated for a moment then did the same.

"Knowing him, he blew up the whole house," he replied, grabbing a shirt and slipping it on. I shivered and he placed one of his old, bright orange jackets on my shoulders. I smiled and gave him a quick kiss, then, expecting the worst, opened the door.

Sasuke was standing right next to the couch, where he had been sleeping, looking just as puzzled as we were.

"What were you two doing in there?" he asked, a look of disgust passing over his face. I giggled.

"Nothing!" said Naruto defensively. "We thought it was you!"

Sasuke shrugged, looking around.

"I'll check outside," said Naruto, heading towards our front door. I quickly followed him, glancing at Sasuke as I passed him.

Outside, plenty of people were poking their heads out of their doors to see what was going on.

"SHIT!"

A laugh resounded as Konohamaru sped by with his two group members he'd been hanging out with since…forever.

He waved, yelled a "Hey Naruto!" and disappeared before Naruto could raise a hand to wave back.

"THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Naruto bellowed after him. He laughed wildly again and Naruto shook his head. "My God, that kid has not changed at all since I _met _him."

I laughed. "You hypocrite. We were _just _like that three years ago, remember?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes, I remember that, but I had this vague hope of seeming responsible in front of Sasuke." I laughed again.

"Sorry Naruto," said Sasuke, grinning, clapping him on the back. "You missed that by a long shot."

Naruto grumbled something and shut the door.

I rubbed my eyes with the balls of my fists."_Frick_ I do not want to wake up today…" I moaned, stepping into our bedroom and slamming the door after me.

"Baby, you're going to have to sometime," called Naruto. I groaned in response. There was a faint laugh and I glared at the door.

I honestly think Naruto was enjoying this.

I looked wistfully at bed, then sighed and left the room again.

"…don't know, it just sort of happened," said Naruto.

"What are we talking about?" I asked, yawning and sitting down.

"Nothing," said Sasuke quickly. I raised an eyebrow and Naruto looked at him strangely, then shrugged.

"Yeah. Nothing."

I frowned at them, but sipped the mug of coffee that Naruto had handed me. Sasuke stared out the window, obviously zoned out. I watched to two boys stare in two completely opposite directions, reliving the past. It sort of gave me the chills.

"Well," I said. The boys snapped out of their reverie. "I think we should start to focus on getting you ready to blend into a crowd, Sasuke."

Naruto allowed himself a grin and Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, seriously Sasuke," I paused. "I should invite Ino to help too!" I said excitedly. "She's _really _good at this."

Naruto laughed.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, go ahead."

"Alright," I surveyed Sasuke carefully, ignoring the amused look on his face. "Once again, we're going to have to fix that hair. And new clothes. Naruto, I suppose you haven't got anything other than your regular stuff?" Naruto shook his head. "But we can probably borrow some. Shikamaru might have some extra…and my dad…and Kiba too, probably.

"We're going to have to come up with a fake identity for you too. I was thinking we could pass you off as my cousin or something, but now I don't think so. I mean, your eyes and hair are too dark for one. What do you think, Naruto?"

He frowned. "I don't think so either. We'll have to make up a totally new identity."

"Do I get a voice in this at all?" asked Sasuke.

"No," said Naruto and I simultaneously. "We're already aware you've made bad choices," I continued. "And I'm not ready to give you more chances to make a fool of yourself."

"Don't look at her like that, I feel the same way," said Naruto, observing him amusedly. Sasuke gave a half-hearted grunt and shrugged.

"Anyways, I think we should cover everything before we introduce you to Lady Tsunade. And I want to tell you a little about her so you don't go and say something stupid," I said matter-of-factly.

"Thanks," said Sasuke dryly.

"No, really, it's almost too easy to say something stupid in front of her," said Naruto, shaking his head. "I remember this one time…" he shook his head. "Seriously, though, Sakura can help you. She's good at that stuff."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.

"What is it?" I asked. He looked at me, startled.

"What do you mean?"

"You look like there's something on your mind, something that's troubling you. What is it?" I asked patiently.

Sasuke looked from me to Naruto with a look of distinct 'what the hell?!?' look on his face. Naruto shrugged. "I don't know how she does it either."

I laughed. "Are you kidding? I learned this from you, Naruto." I looked back to Sasuke. "Seriously, though, what is it?"

Sasuke looked at me heavily then sighed. "It's just…I don't even know why, but I want to know what's happened to everyone. I mean, _where_ they all are, _what_ they're doing, _how_ they are…" He shrugged. "It's hard to explain."

Naruto nodded. "I think I understand. You just want to know what's going on…that's not strange, Sasuke."

"But a little stalker-ish, maybe," I said, grinning. Naruto shot a glance at me and Sasuke turned slightly red.

Acting as if he hadn't heard what I had said, Naruto continued, "Ask away, Sasuke, we'll try and answer as best as we can."

"Alright," said Sasuke slowly. "First of all, Ino. I saw her yesterday, and she was looking…"

"Pregnant?" I offered. Looking slightly awkward, Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it's Shikamaru's. She's due in two weeks."

"So they're – they're mar-"

"No, Shikamaru and Ino are not married," I said matter-of-factly. "They've decided they'll stay together for the baby, but they agreed to see other people, too. By that, I mean that Ino has decided to be the village whore while Shikamaru has not been on one date since she got pregnant." I paused, thinking of the two of them. "He loves her so much," I said softly. "It breaks his heart every time he sees her with someone else."

"Okay – then," said Sasuke. "What about Kiba? You said he _was _married?"

"Yeah," began Naruto. "I can't believe it's been six years now. It was a relatively small ceremony, seeing as most of Hinata's family wouldn't attend. She was part of the main branch of the Hyuuga clan, you know," he said. "She was expected to marry another Hyuuga. Anyways, she's still a shinobi, and very successful at that. They have two girls, Murasaki and Sei. They've have us sit the girls once or twice, and let me say, Sei's a handful. She's two years old and keeps at it… Murasaki's five, and she's got a much gentler personality…She said she'd rather be Rapunzel than a shinobi…and you know, I believe that. Anyways, Kiba's actually taking commissions as an artist right now, he's really talented. You know that painting in the front hall? That was a present from him."

Sasuke looked impressed. "And what about everyone else?"

"If you want to know about _everyone_ else, Sasuke, this'll take more than a day." I laughed. "But I'll try. Let's see… you remember Chouji, right? Right. He's a squad leader now – I know, you expected that to be Shikamaru, right? – and he's pretty decent at it too. He's single right now, and I think he's a little too dedicated to his job, but you know," I smiled. "Whatever. Oh yeah, I almost forgot Kakashi."

"Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sasuke.

I nodded. "He's still a squad leader, but not as young as he used to be. I personally think he should retire about now. And then Shino-"

"Shino," said Naruto softly. "He's a weirdo, a creep and a complete jerk…but he's _awesome_." I laughed and nodded.

"That's pretty much it, Sasuke. Anyone else you want to know about?" I asked. Sasuke thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Well…I don't know…what's happened to you two since I left?" he asked slowly. I raised an eyebrow and looked to Naruto, who was staring thoughtfully at his shoes.

"I couldn't possibly cover everything right now," said Naruto carefully. Sasuke shot a glance at me. "But maybe with your help, Sakura, I could try."

I nodded. "Okay. What first?"

Sasuke paused, then asked, "After I left – like, right after – what happened?"

I took a deep breath.

"Sasuke, you destroyed half the village. We were at our weakest time in history, and the Sand and Sound villages, who were planning to attack us anyway, decided to take advantage of that. We were plunged into a war."

"A war?" asked Sasuke. "And who – who won?"

"No one, as usual," said Naruto bitterly. "Nobody won, and everybody lost. Isn't that the point of wars?"

I glanced at him and continued speaking. "Even with our diminished numbers, we put up quite a fight. We probably would have done better if it wasn't for their – secret weapon."

"And what was that?"

"It was a boy, about our age then," said Naruto. "He had a demon inside of him – literally. His village used him," he said bitterly.

"The Sand and Sound retreated after six pressing years of war. The village was reduced to one quarter of what it once was. There were so many – deaths …"

My throat closed up. My mother had died in that war. But how was I supposed to tell Sasuke that?

"It was hard on all of us," Naruto said quickly. I nodded, silently thanking him. Sasuke looked slightly puzzled. "Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, took the place as our Hokage. Our village is no longer considered as powerful as the Sand, the Cloud or the Mist." Sasuke frowned.

"Anyways," I continued, regaining my composure. "Naruto and I passed as chuunin a few years later. A few years after that, we applied to be teachers at the academy. We teach now."

Sasuke looked impressed. "Well, wow."

"I know, right?" I asked happily. "But I have to say, from about the time we were seventeen until we turned twenty-three, we went _insane_, remember that, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded fondly. "Oh yes, I remember that. I remember having this need for craziness… It was actually pretty fun," he said, smiling. "But I wouldn't want to live it twice."

I laughed and shook my head. "Yeah, me neither."

"Okay," said Sasuke. "Okay. That makes sense. Now…it's been fifteen years. Do you think anyone's going to honestly remember me?"

"What you look like?" I asked. Sasuke nodded. "Nope. I mean, Kakashi might, but I know that Ino didn't, and, to be honest, no one _really _liked you that much, Sasuke."

He sighed softly. "Thanks, Sakura."

"You're welcome," I said brightly.

"Anyways, Sasuke," said Naruto. "Even though it's early, the Hokage is busy enough as it is. We'll leave a meeting with her for a couple days, alright?"

Sasuke nodded and I yawned again.

"Alright, well, I have a feeling we should all get dressed," I murmured. "Sasuke," I paused, sizing him up. "You're a little smaller than Naruto, don't you think so?" I asked.

In truth, he wasn't _that _much smaller than Naruto, but it was worth saying it to just see the look on his face.

"You'll fit into some of his older clothes," at the look on his face, I added, "Don't worry, it's not an orange jumpsuit…he threw almost all of them out when I moved in."

Naruto nodded fondly. "I loved those jumpsuits…"

I laughed.

"Seriously, though, Sasuke…let me just go and grab some. Just a sec, you g-"

There was a loud laugh and a knock at the door, cutting off the rest of my sentence. Naruto sighed and got up to answer it. I continued into the bedroom, where I grabbed some of Naruto's older clothes from the back of the closet and, my arms full of clothes.

Back in the kitchen, Naruto was conversing in an undertone to Sasuke, surveying a note he had in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked, laying down the clothes on the sofa.

"It's a message from the Hokage…" he said, frowning at it. "About a mission. I think it's weird, though…there's plenty of people in the village who could take this."

He handed the paper to me. I read it over quickly. I wouldn't quite call it minor, but it wasn't urgent…he had to report to the Hokage's office first thing Monday morning.

Hmm. This was strange. Naruto and I were usually left without missions because we had to train the kids at the academy. Since Sasuke left, the academy's been much more…hardcore, for lack of a better word.

"Okay," I said slowly. "Well...I don't think we should have the appointment about Sasuke with the Hokage while you're on your mission, Naruto, so…I'll have him ready by the time you get back, okay?"

Sasuke let out a forced laugh. "You make it sound as if I'm some sort of toy."

My eyes passed over him. "Well you are, aren't you?"

There was a moment's silence when something almost like hostility settled over us all, then Naruto cleared his throat and said, "Alright then, what about today?"

I paused. "I don't have anything specific I was planning for today. I mean, we _were_ planning to go to the beach," I said. Sasuke frowned, but Naruto smiled softly and nodded.

"That reminds me of something…" he shook his head. "Nevermind." I raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same.

"Alright. Personally, I feel the need to look over squads again." Naruto groaned. "_But _if you don't want to, you don't have to."

"Look over squads?" asked Sasuke.

"The kids in the Academy are just about ready to graduate," I explained. "We had to split them up."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.

"Naruto," I went on. "Where did you put those files?"

"What?"

"The ones with the kids separated into the squads?"

He stared at me. "…I thought you had them."

I stared at him for a moment, then I burst out laughing.

"I'm –_ ha!_ – sorry, it's just – _oh my, haha – _your face, sorry," I gasped, clutching my stomach. Sasuke raised his eyebrows and Naruto grinned.

"Wait, what? We just lost the files, Sakura – stop laughing!" he said, falling into chuckles himself.

Sasuke however, continued to stare at us, looking faintly disgusted.

"What?" I asked, still smiling.

He shook his head, that same grimace still etched on his face. "Are you two always like this?" he asked.

"Like what?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke shrugged. "Well… You're so…I don't know, so _happy, _it's almost revolting." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about…the both of you can get angry at me, but it seems like you two never get angry at each other."

I sneaked a glanced at Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke skeptically.

Sasuke sighed impatiently. "You're just so _perfect_, the both of you. How do you do it? And why? It's sort of creepy."

I raised the other eyebrow at him.

"We're not – _perfect_, Sasuke. Not even close. We've had our fights, and -"

"You've got to be kidding me. Right now, you two should be screaming at each other. How can you just shrug it off?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't want to fight with you Sasuke, even if you think me a fool for it. Back off – please."

Sasuke continued to shake his head, but was silent.

"Anyways, Naruto," I said, pulling my gaze from Sasuke. "Seriously. Do you know where the files are?"

He shook his head. "No, but they have to be around here somewhere. I mean, they can't possibly have gotten up and walked away."

I nodded.

Eventually, we found them under a pile of magazines. It was silent for a while. A hint of awkwardness hovered between the three of us. I tried to shake it off, to ignore it, but there was something strange about the way Sasuke was frowning slightly, as if trying to figure something out.

I pretended to be interested in our brief overview, and changed what needed to be changed (there were two girls who were definitely in the wrong group).

Sasuke pretended to be interested when we told him about the new squad system. "When we were in a squad," I explained. "The standard form was two boys and a girl. The Academy was never mandatory. But now every child has to, at least, attend the Academy. They don't have to become shinobi if they, or their parents, don't want them to, but they have to go through the training. Squads are varied now. A lot more girls want to become kuniochi, while there are a lot of boys who are taken out by their parents."

"Why?"

Naruto replied, "Because of you, Sasuke. Mothers and fathers were concerned by the basic emotional differences between boys and girls. Being a teacher, it doesn't take much to figure out that girls are much more open to talking about their feelings than boys."

"With some exceptions," I added.

"Yes, with some exceptions," he replied, flashing me a smile. "Anyways, even now, even with the people who can barely remember you, they learned their lesson. Most parents believe that if their son doesn't often share his feelings and such, they'll end up like you, freaking out and destroying half the village." Sasuke nodded, trying not to let the reference faze him. "So if their boys don't open up, or if they aren't desperate to be a ninja, most parents take their sons out after they finish the Academy. Girls, on the other hand, actively discuss their feelings, which makes parents more comfortable with the thought of their daughters feeling what you felt, whatever it was." He paused, as if waiting for Sasuke to speak. He didn't. "Anyways, that means we switched over to either all girls squad – which, admittedly, isn't a very good idea in my opinion – or two girls and one boy. We have the occasional oddity, but that's basically how it is now."

We finished with the squads quickly. We stopped to explain things to Sasuke a few times, although he honestly seemed very bored.

My phone rang and I excused myself to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sakura!" It was Ino. "I just wanted to tell you that the girls and I are going out for drinks-"

"_Drinks_?"

"_Non_-alcoholic, friggen meanypants."

I laughed. "I'm a meanypants because I'm keeping your kid from potential birth defects?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"Wow, Ino, just wow."

"I know, right? Well, anyways, I was _going _to invite you, but if you insist on using big words-"

"What, like _birth defects_?"

"No, like potential."

"…wow, Ino."

"I know, just wow. We'll pick you up around six, okay? Whether you like it or not."

I laughed. "Okay, see you then."

"Bye."

Later that evening, after I had informed the boys on my plans, I changed into something special for the night. It was a little back dress and a shortish red jacket that was pinned around my belly button.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked Naruto, twirling around for him.

Not even bothering to look up from his book, he said, "I think that every man that sees you will offer to buy you a drink."

I smiled. "Thanks. I'll save one for you." I turned to Sasuke. "What do _you _think?"

"What?" he asked, looking startled.

"What do you think?" I repeated. At his blank look, I added "Of what I'm wearing?"

"Oh," he said, looking over me. "You look…" it seemed as if he was about to say something, but stopped himself. "…um, (mumble mumble mumble mumble)."

I laughed. "Whatever Sasuke." The doorbell rang. "See you, Naruto," I said quickly, giving him a kiss. "You too, Sasuke," I added, rushing out.

"Sakura! Sakura open the friggen door, you friggen weirdo-freak-hybrid," said Ino in a muffled voice from outside the door. I opened it and saw Ino, looking sour at the thought of no alcohol, Tenten grinning broadly at me, and Hinata, with a soft smile as usual.

"Hey you guys," I said, stepping out and closing the door behind me. There was a chorus of three 'hi's back. "So where were you thinking of going?" I asked as we walked away.

"There was this really good vegan juice bar on the north side of the village," offered Hinata.

"There was this really good bar that served scorched animal corpses on the south side," said Tenten sarcastically.

Hinata shot a glare her way. "You know, a diet high in vegetables can-"

"Reduce your risk of cancer, yeah, we've heard it a million times," said Ino boredly. "We all get how in love with greenery you are."

I laughed and even Hinata cracked a smile.

"But seriously, there _is _a good juice bar-"

"You don't even have to fake convincing us, Hinata, we all know not to argue with you," Ino said.

Eventually, we did go to the juice bar, which, thankfully, wasn't quite as vegan as Hinata made it out to be. Once we were all sitting down, I sipped my drink and said, "So Tenten, Ino tells me she gets the feeling something happened on your mission."

Tenten sighed. "Yeah, something did happen."

"Details?" asked Ino.

"Well," began Tenten. "It was a pretty simple mission, things were going fine, you know. And then… well it was like, ten o'clock, and so I thought Lee was asleep, or something, and Neji and I just sort of… I don't know, hit it off. But after maybe half an hour, Lee comes out, sees us, and gets _pissed_. We started yelling, and I don't think he had a right to say anything, I mean, we are officially over."

"Yeah, but he obviously still wants you," said Ino.

"But he's the one who broke it off!" said Tenten.

"Oh honey," said Hinata sympathetically. "You have so much to learn." Ino and I laughed as Tenten flushed.

"What do you mean?"

"Tenten, Neji is Lee's best friend," I explained. "Lee knew that Neji liked you. He didn't want that kind of awkwardness, so he ended it, and I don't think you're respecting that much if you start dating Neji."

Tenten blinked. "How come I can never figure this out?"

"I have no idea," said Ino. "I would have thought it was obvious."

Tenten threw a cashew at her.

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OH MAN OH MAN

I love girlfriend love. It's so _great._

Don't worry. Things get MUCH more exciting. :D

Review!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Be back safe, and preferably in one piece, okay?" I asked Naruto, straightening the pack on his broad shoulders. He smiled and gently held my hands.

"Okay, Sakura. I'll be fine," he said softly. "I'll be fine," he repeated. I smiled at him.

"Well, good luck. I'll see you Wednesday, then?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, love you."

He kissed me. "I love you too," he lowered his voice. "If anything happens, promise me you won't stay with him. Go straight to your father, okay?"

I nodded. He kissed me again, held me tight for a moment, then strode out the door to his mission.

I sighed wistfully and turned back to Sasuke.

"All right," I began. "I have to be at work in fifteen minutes. For today, you have to stay here. Got it?" I asked. Sasuke nodded. "Alright. Ino might be dropping in around noon. Don't let her get into your pants. I trust you," I finished.

Sasuke smiled and nodded. "Okay, I get it. I'll try not to have any parties while you're gone too."

I laughed. "It's good to see you haven't lost that sense of humor you never had."

And, in fifteen minutes, I was at the academy. Class didn't officially start for a while, but I had to get the squads to Iruka – who, incidentally, was filling in for Naruto. Iruka's more of a superintendent, I suppose. He supervises everything, directs everything… he sits on the village's board as a representation of the Academy.

"So Sakura," said Iruka, looking over the squad. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Why is Naruto going on a mission? There are plenty of shinobi around here with nothing to do. Is there something going on?"  
I thought for a moment, then shook my head. "No, everything is pretty normal. Besides, Lady Tsunade makes random choices like that all the time."

He muttered something incomprehensible, but before I could ask him loudly and obnoxiously to repeat it, kids began streaming in my classroom.

"Good morning everyone," I said, smiling at them as Iruka left.

"Good morning Sakura-sensei," they chorused back.

"Does anyone remember what we were learning on Friday?" I asked, then pointed to one of the few raised hands, who supplied me with a sufficient answer. "Good. Does anyone want to give me a demonstration of what a-"

"Sakura-sensei," said a blonde-haired girl from the back of the room.

"Yes?"

"You know none of us care about this… we want to hear _gossip_."

I laughed. "Ichi, don't listen to anything your cousin tells you."

Ino's cousin fell into a sulky pout.

The day passed normally. My students were very varied… there were some who couldn't even produce a simple clone yet, and some who could easily produce many. I enjoy teaching – it gives me the sense of helping that I never had when I was younger.

Anyways, I got home eventually, if not a little later than usual. Sasuke was frowning, scrutinizing something intensely as I came in.

"What's that?" I asked, dropping my bag on the kitchen table.

"What's what?" he asked, hastily putting it away. I laughed and shook my head.

"Whatever… So," I began, sitting on the couch next to him. "How'd it go?"

He was silent for a moment, then said, "When Ino dropped in, she said something about wanting to fix my hair…? Did you put her up to that?"  
I laughed again. "No, I didn't, but I suppose she feels the same way I do… you need something done with that hair."

He sighed, smiling.

"So, did you find anything interesting around here?" I asked. At his quizzical look, I clarified, "What did you do for the five or six hours I was gone?"

He shrugged. "I have some stuff."

I waited for him to say more, but he didn't. "Okay… well I've got some papers to grade," I continued, standing up to retrieve them. "Haha, you can help… although I'd be willing to bet you're a little rusty on your ninja skills, as you've been away fifteen years."

"Actually," said Sasuke as I came to sit back down. "That's not the case."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He didn't say anything, only reached for his bag, the only thing he had been carrying when he got here. I hadn't given it much thought, but out of it he pulled… _four_ headbands?

"Grass. Cloud. Stone. Rain," he said, handing them to me in turn. "I'm a qualified chuunin in the Grass and Cloud, a genin in the Stone, and a jounin in the Rain."

I stared at the headbands, then back at Sasuke. "But I thought… you told us you wandered around, not belonging anywhere."

"And that's true!" he said. "I did wander from village to village, and I knew that I didn't actually belong to any of them!"

I stared at him for a moment.

"Really!"

Finally, I nodded. "Okay. Okay, that's cool, Sasuke. Just… tell me a little about it." To tell the truth, I still honestly could not believe this of Sasuke. Being considered a missing nin by the Leaf, he seriously went to other village? How could this be?

"Well… I did try the Sand Village too," he began. "I now realize that was a mistake, and the reason I left there was because they were in the middle of a war… I guess I know what war that was. And the secret weapon Naruto was talking about earlier? The boy with the demon inside of him? I _knew _that boy. His name was Gaara, I knew his whole squad… It's strange to remember them as I do, and then think of all the damage they wreaked."

I nodded, still stunned. "So… wow. I'm… I'm blown away, Sasuke. I had no idea…"

"I had no intention of telling you."

I froze, something striking in me.

To hear Sasuke, within touching distance, telling me of his intentions…

"Sakura… Sakura, are you alright?" asked a voice far away, sounding slightly worried. I blinked, pulled from my reverie, and a dark-haired, dark-eyed man's concerned face focused over me. "Sakura? Can you hear me?"

I nodded, realizing I had stood up and staggered away from the couch, ending up clutching the table for support, Sasuke's headbands still in my hand. "Yeah, I'm fine…sorry about that," I said, shaking my head and trying to smile. "Sorry. I just… sorry."

He stared at me, half confused, half concerned, and I sat down at the table. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, I had just a very vivid flashback right there."

He paused, and then said quietly, "I'm sorry for what I did to you, that day, Sakura. If there's anything I haven't been able to forget, it's knowing what I did to you-"

"-you have no idea what you did to me."

He was silent.

Somehow, his hand found mine.

"I'm so, so sorry," he whispered. "Of everyone I left, I missed you the most, Sakura. I was so young… it was terrifying to be out there, alone… I was so used to having everyone like me… but I learned…"

Somehow, we were suddenly closer.

"But now, Sakura… that's over now. I have a new life now. Here. And I am never – _never_ – leaving again."

His face was so close to mine…

I pulled my hand out of his and stood up, shaking my head.

"No, Sasuke," I said, my voice much stronger than I felt. "No. Don't be like this. You're not going to come in here and just, and just mess everything up, okay? Let me get this straight – I do no like you like that, I never did, and if you're just going to be like this then you need to find someplace else to stay. Alright?"

He bowed his head. "I apologize. I shouldn't have put you in that position."

"That's right. You shouldn't have," I said. "But let that be a lesson, okay? People have changed, and you can't go around trying to turn them back.

"Now come on. I have to work on your hair."

Probably because of our last episode, he didn't say anything. With a single trip to the bathroom for all the supplies, I sat him down on one of our chairs to get his hair done.

"Well," I began, attacking his head with scissors. "There's a professional hairdresser near the Dame-ji River, but I think I'll do."

"The what river?"

"Come on, you know. The Dame-ji river, to the east?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, that's right," I said. "The Dame-ji River was put in after you had left, after the war was over. There simply wasn't enough graves for the bodies, so they were burned in a huge cremation service and, under the black smoke the bodies were giving off, everyone who had lost someone lit a candle and sent it down the river. A bunch of people still go down there a lot to light a candle. Come to think of it, I need to go with my dad…"

I cut Sasuke off before he could say anything. "But yeah. The Dame-ji River. The Damaged River. There's a prayer that goes with it too, but I can't remember it right now. I have it somewhere in the house, you could look for it if you want. Aaaaand… there. Done."

I handed him a mirror. He grimaced and looked over his head.

"_Ho_ly…"

Instead of doing anything that might cause me to actually have to work, I had just cut off the parts of his hair that wouldn't work and slicked the rest back. It actually looked pretty good, and it seriously changed something about his appearance too.

"Right… I want you to come to the Academy with me tomorrow. None of the kids were even alive when you left, and I doubt any of them will recognize you. I'll tell Iruka, though, he's filling in for Naruto. The Fifth should be alright with that…Here…"

I dashed into Naruto and I's room and grabbed some of his older, brighter clothes. Back with Sasuke, I shoved them at him. "Go ahead, change into those, I want to see how badly they clash with your hair," I said, smiling. He sighed and obliged, changing in the bathroom. The first set was back when Naruto still liked bright colors that didn't match (orange and blue, seriously). It was a blood red shirt with highlighter yellow pants to match. I laughed at how ridiculous Sasuke looked.

Eventually though, we decided on a much more Sasuke-ish ensemble. It was some of Naruto's dress clothes, but on Sasuke they looked very casual. It was dark pants and a grey shirt with a 'badass stand-up collar', as Naruto used to phrase it.

"There we go," I said, looking him over. "You look great, Sasuke, much different than before."

"I don't know whether to thank you or burst into tears," he said, amused, looking down at himself.

"Haha," I said, smiling. "And now you need a name, an identity, if anyone asks… How about my second cousin? One of my great aunts left the village to explore once."

He nodded and I beckoned to have him sit back down on the couch with me. I sat with my three-ring binder on my knees, grading papers automatically.

"So what are the kids learning?"

I shrugged. "Just reviewing for their exams now. It's all pretty tough, and they get divided into squads a year or two before we were. I mean, compared to them, we were wimps." I smiled. "I'm pretty proud to be teaching them, though. I'd like to think I'm doing a good job."

"Have you had many missions since you've become a teacher?"

I shook my head. "Not many… I'm alright, I guess, when it comes to missions. I've helped my squad members out of some pretty tight spots before."

Sasuke let out a low whistle. "I never thought you, of all of us, would grow up so strong."

I laughed softly. "No, I'm not strong. In fact, I'd say I'm in the weaker half of the shinobi of the village."

"I didn't mean physically."

There was an awkward pause.

"Um, you can help me grade," I said, trying to keep myself from blushing. "Here," I shoved some papers at him. "The answer key's at the bottom, but you can probably figure some of them out, they're pretty simple."

We worked in silence for a while. It was second nature to me, but Sasuke had to concentrate a little harder. I stared at his face for a while, focusing, brow wrinkled, making check marks on the paper now and again.

Could he really be that changed from the twelve-year-old boy who caused so much pain? Does time work that way, erasing damages and faults?

I stared at him a little harder.

But however much I tried, I could not see the shadow of that Sasuke on his handsome features. He looked calm, even kind, something I don't remember ever seeing on his face before. What had done this to him? Who had he met? What had he done? There was so much unanswered…

Sasuke looked up, and I ducked my head, but I think he may have caught me staring at him.

The next day, I had Sasuke ready in time to be at the Academy. We got there a little earlier than I would have normally, but Iruka was already there, sipping a coffee from the staff lounge (which is woefully inadequate, by the way).

"Iruka," I said, pulling him from some article he was reading.

"Sakura? Hmm?" he glanced up. "Who's this?" he asked, nodding at Sasuke.

"I was just about to say…Iruka… this is… Sasuke Uchiha."

Every muscle in Iruka's body tautened and he jumped up. "_No way_… What's he doing here? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Iruka, I'm fine," I said. "Sit down, I'll tell you what happened."

Iruka sat down at his desk, stunned, and I explained to him all about how Sasuke had come back, and how Tsunade was going to see him.

"Oh…okay…" he said faintly when I had finished. "Well… you'd better get to your class… they'll be here in a minute…"

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, helping him up. "You wouldn't rather just call in a substitute?"

"I _am _the substitute, Sakura," he said, managing a smile. Painfully, he held out a hand to Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at it for half a second, then took it.

"Glad to have you back, Uchiha."

"Thank you sir," answered Sasuke, bowing his head.

In my classroom, I beamed at Sasuke. "That went so well! He didn't even try to attack you!"

Sasuke smiled. "Thanks, Sakura."

The day went smoothly. The kids seemed to behave extra well because they knew there was a guest here. I introduced him as Tekiya, my second-cousin. I was actually glad to have him there because my class worked extra hard, showing off for him. Ino's cousin went so far as to ask him his number. He was surprisingly good with them… he seemed almost a natural at teaching, which, to say the very least, surprised me.

At the end of the day, after I had dismissed my students, Sasuke stood staring at the door as I finished up some files.

"What's up?" I asked. He glanced at me and shrugged.

"I don't know. It's so weird, to look at these kids, and remember that I was their age, once."

"Yes," I said, smiling at him. "Once."

He was silent for a moment, then said, "I was thinking… once I'm… you know, back a part of the village… is it possible to… could I maybe… start teaching too?"

"Took you long enough to say," I said, still smiling. "Of course you could, Sasuke. You did really well with the kids. I can't believe it, but you were." He smiled. "Now, I'm going to stay just a little later, okay? You can go-"

I stopped myself before I said "home." I don't know why, but it didn't seem right.

"Really?" asked Sasuke.

I laughed. "Yes, really. And don't look at me like that, you don't need permission to do everything."

He smiled, said goodbye, and left.

I was alone for a moment, then there was a knock on the door and Iruka popped his head in.

"Hello, Iruka," I said brightly.

"Hey Sakura," he said, sidling in. "I just needed to ask you something."

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath. "Do you really trust Sasuke?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation. "Of course."

"But why?" he asked. "I mean, don't you remember that… day…" he trailed off. I paused in my work a moment, remembering the day Sasuke left.

"Of course I do. But this isn't that Sasuke. You should have seen him with the kids, really… I was surprised to see how nice he came across. I mean, I remember him as being that stuck-up little jerk that everyone loved…"

"Yeah," said Iruka grimly. "I suppose so. But do you think it's wise to have him living with you while Naruto isn't here?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you know. He's always been… a little cruel. You can't tell me you haven't seen that at all from him since he's come back."

I blinked. "Iruka, I believe that Sasuke has changed. Fifteen years ago is fifteen years ago. There is no way we can judge him on what he did when he was twelve years old-"

"He destroyed half the village!"

"I know he hates himself for what he did, and he only wishes he could have chosen something better-"

"Sakura, he plunged us into a war! He killed your mother and that means _nothing _to you?"

"No," I said coldly. "That is irrelevant, Iruka, and you know it. My mother's death had nothing – _nothing_ – to do with what Sasuke did to this village. Please do not suggest it again."

He looked at me in a strained silence for a while, then said, quieter, "Okay. I trust your judgment, Sakura. But if he tries anything, if he gets out of hand at all, don't stay with him, alright?"

"Alright," I said. "Naruto has already told me that. I know. I'm not the little ditz you taught anymore, Iruka-sensei."

I smiled at him. He paused for half a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "No, you're not. Come on, take your stuff back to your place, I don't want you here all night. Besides, Naruto's coming back tomorrow, right?"

I nodded, standing up. "Yeah, but he said he'd be back pretty late.  
"Of course, of course…" We talked a while longer, but we had to part when we came to his place. We said goodbye and I continued to walk home. It was late afternoon, so the streets weren't deserted, but it was pretty hot out, and that made everyone feel a little more lazy than usual.

Absentmindedly staring at the sky, I stupidly tripped on a crack in the pavement. I fell forwards, but luckily when I threw out my hands, there was a wall to keep me from crashing to the ground. Unluckily, however, someone called my name that instant and I whipped around quickly.

There was a sharp, stinging pain on my right wrist. Automatically, I clutched the bleeding wrist with my left hand. "_Ouch_…" I whispered. Glancing back at the wall, I realized there had been a sharp nail I hadn't seen protruding from the wall.

Sasuke, who had called my name, looked at me concernedly. "What happened?"

I showed him the deep laceration on my wrist and pointed to the nail. "Ouch. C'mon, we should clean that up."

Back at the house, I cleaned the cut and carefully bandaged it. "Crap," I said bitterly. "Now everyone's gonna think…"

"What?"

I glanced at Sasuke. "I'm sorry, I forgot there's so much you don't know. There were certain…" I paused, thinking about my words. "…times when doing actions such as cutting your wrists seemed appropriate. It was popular, even. A fad," I said.

"Seriously? Actually hurting yourself on purpose was popular?"

"…yes…"

I was silent, staring at the bandages, which were already stained slightly red.

"Nevermind, though. No one's going to believe I did this on purpose. I'll be alright," I said.

Sasuke leaned back, took a deep breath and shook his head, staring at the floor. "Sometimes," he began. "I wonder if it's worth it to hear what's happened to this place."

"You know, most of it isyour fault, after all."

He didn't look at me.

I smiled sadly and readjusted the fitting of the bandage.

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Wooooooo! Seems there was more to Sakura than you thought!

There was obviously a lot of stuff going on after Sasuke left.

Unfortunately, I never really do explain much about it. :D

Review :).


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Naruto smiled at me and nodded, and, taking a deep breath, I stepped into the Fifth Hokage's room.

"Yes?"

"Ah, Sakura," said Tsunade matter-of-factly. "I wanted to ask you a few things before I see your friend."

I nodded.

"I'll be blunt. While Naruto was away, did Sasuke in any way do anything harmful to you or your relationship with Naruto?"

"Um – no," I said, slightly startled.

"You can tell me, Sakura," she said, her voice lower. "Did he do anything that even suggested something inappropriate?"

I thought for a moment of that second when his face had been close to mine.

"Anything at all?"

I shook my head. "No, nothing."

She nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled. "Alright. Tell the boys they can come in."

Sasuke came in first, with Naruto behind him.

"Lady Tsunade," said Naruto, with the slightest bow of his head. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke copied Naruto's movements, although his bow might have been the tiniest bit deeper.

"Sasuke Uchiha," she said thoughtfully. "Well," she continued. "I am pleased to inform you that I had set up a little exam, if you will, to test your integrity. I purposefully sent Naruto on this mission so you would be alone with Sakura. If you had tried anything, done anything at all, then I probably wouldn't have even seen you. But I have reason to believe that you were perfectly fine. Congratulations, Sasuke. You passed my first exam.

"Now, for the second. I want you to look me in the face and answer my next question. Can you do that? Good. Now… with all the honesty you can muster, do you or do you not regret what you did fifteen years ago?"

Sasuke stared at her blankly for a second…three seconds…five…

"In fifteen years," he said slowly. "I have thought about that every day. It haunted me, and I know that there is nothing in my life I regret more than causing those people's deaths and leaving this village. How could anyone not regret it?"

Tsunade stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

"What you meant to say was 'how could anyone with a heart not regret it?'" she said kindly. "Thank you. You can arrange our next meeting with Shizune and we'll discuss our actions. I suggest you begin to interact with your fellow villagers for the time being."

Beaming, I left with the boys.

"That was great, Sasuke, that was absolutely perfect," I said, holding hands with Naruto. Naruto nodded.

"I agree. You couldn't have said it better," he said almost… proudly? Sasuke smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks. Compared to the Third, this Hokage is very…" he paused, at a loss for words.

"Strong-willed," offered Naruto.

"Strangely stubborn?" I asked. Sasuke laughed.

"I think I'll go with strong-willed. But thanks anyway, Sakura."

I laughed. "This is great. This is absolutely awesome… You know what, Naruto?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder. "We should celebrate how fantastic this is."

"What do you suggest, Sakura?" he asked, resting his head on mine.

"Hmm," I thought aloud. "What do you want to do, Sasuke?"

I waited for the "I don't know, what do you want to do?" but it never came. Instead, Sasuke shrugged. "Hmm. I was thinking, I'm kind of interested in-"

"What is that?" interrupted Naruto.

"What?" I asked. He pointed at my wrist, where the bandages were poking out of the end of my sleeve.

"Nothing," said Sasuke. I smiled at him.

"Thanks for trying to cover for me, but I really don't need it, Sasuke." I pulled back my sleeve. "I got a cut, Naruto. It was an accident."

"Really?" he asked skeptically. "How'd it happen?"

"There was a nail, and I slipped," I said truthfully. He nodded softly.

"Right. And you cleaned it?"

"Of course."

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Are you sure, Sakura? It was an accident? Because, well, you know… I leave you with Sasuke, and you get hurt… kind of strange."

"Strange?" asked Sasuke defiantly. "Why is it strange?"

"Sasuke, please-" I began, but Naruto cut me off.

"As I recall," said Naruto through gritted teeth. "Sakura got hurt the last time you two were in close contact as well."

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second, then shrugged and turned away.

"Naruto, drop it," I said in a low voice. "It was an accident, an unfortunate accident." I paused. "Please."

Naruto was silent for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry; I trust you." I smiled softly and kissed his neck.

"Thank you," I whispered. He shook his head, but a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

As we walked home, Sasuke and I would occasionally ask Naruto something about his mission. Naruto would shrug and respond with a single sentence.

When we got to the house, Naruto told me I had to go clean my cut again, and reapply the bandages. I sighed, but smiled and went into our bathroom to get some supplies. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually started to walk back out to the boys.

About to say something, I stopped before they saw me. "-already told you, Sasuke, the pieces just sort of fell together," Naruto was saying.

"Yeah, but I just can't believe it. I mean, I remember her so differently, and in the few days I've been back, my whole image of her has been redefined," replied Sasuke.

"Hah, I know how that is," said Naruto. "I remember, after the war, after everything had finished, I wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks. It was finally Sakura who snapped me out of it. I'll never forget what she said to me," I could hear the smile in his voice, "'Stop it,' she said. 'We've had enough pain already, without you reminding us of all the crap we've just been put through. So buck up,'" he paused. "'And live with it.'"

It was silent, and then Sasuke said, "Wow."

"Yeah. I was so surprised; I think my jaw literally hit the floor." There was another silence.

"So who do you think has changed more?" asked Sasuke, so quietly I could barely hear him. "Sakura or I?"

Naruto didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed and stood up from the couch they were both sitting on. I quickly ducked back into our room so he didn't see me.

"Sakura, are you alright?" he called.

"Yeah," I replied, stepping out to him. "I'm fine, totally fine."

We hung out for a little while, and I couldn't help wondering why Naruto hadn't answered that question. Of course Sasuke had changed more than I had. He had been cold, cruel, and destructive before. But now, here he was, calm, understanding, even kind. There was no question.

That night, when Naruto and I were in our room, he said to me, "You were listening, weren't you?"

I smiled at him, and pulled back the sheets to get into bed. "Maybe. Why? Did you say something you didn't want me to hear?"

He laughed softly. "Sakura, please. I knew you were there, and I think Sasuke did too."

I nodded slowly, slipping into bed. "Why didn't you answer his question? About who has changed more? He has, hasn't he?"

He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me. I pushed him away slightly and raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed and nodded. "Yes, he has changed more."

"Then why didn't you just tell him?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do."

"No, I don't."

"Oh, stop it, Naruto."

He laughed again and pulled my closer to him. "I thought," he said, his chin resting on the top of my head, while I snuggled against his chest. "That if I told him he had changed more, then he would try and steal you away from me."

"Aww. You know that could never happen."

"Yes, I know he never could. But if he tried, I would be forced to kill him."

"…I really don't know whether to laugh or slap you."

"You never do."

The next morning, Sasuke was still asleep when Naruto and I got up. Naruto left him a note on the kitchen table and we left for our work.

"This is it," I whispered to him as we walked into the Academy, his arm around my shoulders, my arm around his waist. "We have to assign them to their sensei today."

"Then we get a two months, then the new kids, I know how this goes, Sakura," he said, almost smiling. I could tell he wasn't looking forward to it, though. Naruto loved all his students, and he hated having to say goodbye to them – although he was very happy for all of them.

He lingered in my classroom until students began to file in, then he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and went to his classroom.

The class was chattering in excitement, but the moment the bell rang, they were silent. Today, only the students who chose to move on and be assigned a sensei had come – the others had to come to a one-week day-camp where they are briefed on what they would have learned with a squad leader.

I wasted a while with having them go over, once more, everything they had learned. They were all very accomplished, and I could not help being impressed. They were two years younger than I was when I graduated the Academy, yet so far ahead of me…

Finally, I began to call out squads. There was much squealing and groaning, but I think everyone was happy with their squads, in the end.

Once everyone was grouped appropriately, sensei after sensei began arriving. I chatted a little, said goodbye to the kids, promised them I'd see them around, accepted a few gifts, and then strolled out of there with Naruto.

Walking home, I sighed. "I need to talk to Ino. Tell her how I mercilessly gave her cousin to Chouji."

Naruto laughed. "Oh, Chouji'll love that. Just what he needs. More Yamanako."

When we finally arrived home, Sasuke had left a note for _us_.

Well, I didn't think it qualified as a note. Naruto said he thought it was enough though.

_Going out_, it said. I almost laughed when Naruto handed it to me. It felt so strange – Sasuke Uchiha was _going out_. It just didn't seem to sound right, no matter how much I had realized he had changed.

We hung out a while, talking about the kids and the village in general. We didn't bring up Sasuke once; I thought that was strange, but Naruto seemed to change the subject whenever I (almost) brought him up.

It was like it had always been. It was good to just talk to him for a few hours, to be normal again.

Sasuke came back around one in the morning. Naruto and I weren't asleep yet – somehow, we had silently agreed that we were going to stay up until Sasuke came home. Instead, we were still on the couch. I was curled up and leaning onto him, and his arms were wrapped around me, in a comfortable silence.

"You know," said Naruto, as Sasuke shut the front door behind him. "We should really give you a curfew." He turned to look at Sasuke. "Where have you been?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Here and there."

Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment (I imagined him reprimanding Sasuke for being irresponsible in my mind), then shook his head and nodded. "Okay."

We went into our bedroom, and I said to Naruto, "We're such parents."

"What?"

"Oh come on, we're so obvious. We stay up until he gets home, you ask him where he's been…please, Naruto, you are _such _a dad."

We both slipped into bed

"Why not? I don't think he's grown up, and _his _parents were killed when he was, what, six? Seven?"

"I know, you're right, but still. It feels weird."

"Everything feels weird with Sasuke."

I laughed.

"I don't know. It's like…it's like he hasn't been away at all, but instead it's like he was here all the time and he _just _changed, like, now."

Naruto looked at me skeptically.

"Well, what do you think?"  
He shrugged.

"I definitely feel like a kid when I'm with him. I can't really get over how we used to act around each other, you know? But I'll be talking to him, getting annoyed with him, and then you'll just walk into the room, and I'll remember that I'm not the same as I was, and that it's different now…I'll remember how much I love you now."

"Oh, you always loved me," I said, grinning at him. "I just was too stupid to realize it."

He laughed softly. "We were all stupid."

I propped my head up on my hand and looked at him. "What is one thing about you that I don't know?"

He smiled.

"I thought you knew everything about me."

"Aha, then my plan is working."

He laughed. "Okay, okay, let me think of something…I have a wasted talent as a whistler."

"What?"

"Oh yes," he said cheerfully. "I can whistle almost any tune. It's pretty cool."

I laughed. "You're hilarious, Naruto."

"I know," he said. "I know."

"But…I'm serious," I said. "Is there anything, specifically about Sasuke, that I don't know about?"

He shrugged slowly.

"Probably not. I mean, you of all people know how much it sucked when he left. I guess I've always regarded him as a brother. And you know what? He seems really interested in how you and I got together. I've told him about it several times already, but he just keeps asking."

"Do you know why?"

"I have a theory. I might be way off, but I'd be willing to say he honestly doesn't know what love is…he's been wandering around through the villages for fifteen years, and when he comes back, here we are, settled down, perfectly in love…I think it annoys him how we haven't let him leaving stop us from loving each other. It annoys him how we aren't like he would be, in our position…I don't know."

"No, that makes sense," I said fondly. "You're so good at this, Naruto."

He smiled again. "I'm a teacher," he said. "I have to be."

"That's not fair," I said, pulling a face. "I'm not any good at it."

"Oh, yes you are," he said fondly, holding me close.

I closed my eyes and made a happy little noise. "You're too kind to me, Naruto."

He kissed the top of my head.

The next morning, I was woken up by a call on my cell phone.

Still in bed, I reached up to grab it on the night stand and murmured a tired, "Hello?"

"Sakura? This is Shikamaru."

"Oh," I said, yawning. "Hi. Why are you calling so early?"

"We're at the hospital," he said. "Ino's in labor."

I sat straight up in bed.

"_What?_"

"I just – I thought I should call you, she'd want you here, I thought, since you're her best friend-"

"Yes, I'm coming," I said, slipping out of bed. "I'll be right there."

"Okay," he said. "See you."

"See – wait!" I said, before he could hang up.

"Yes?"

"Congratulations, Shikamaru."

"…thanks," he said softly.

_Click_.

"What's up, honey?" asked Naruto sleepily, as I began getting dressed.

"Ino's having the baby!" I said excitedly. "_Right now!_"

"Oh," he said with a smile. "That's great. Tell them congratulations for me. I'll be there later."

"Okay," I said, giving him a quick kiss. Sasuke was still asleep on the couch, so I tried to be silent as I rushed out of the house.

I met Shikamaru at the hospital.

"Hey," I said, giving him a hug. "How is she?"

He shrugged, looking pale. "Alright, I suppose. She's been swearing non-stop for forty-five minutes."

We winded up on either side of her, each holding one of her hands. She was, indeed, swearing non-stop.

But it was worth it in the end.

Because, in the end, the doctors handed my best friend her newborn daughter, while the child's father watched the both of them tenderly.

To give them a moment, I slipped out of the room, to where Naruto was already.

"Hey sweetie," he said, putting his arms around me and kissing my cheek. "So?"

"It's a girl," I said. "A beautiful, healthy baby girl."

Shikamaru beckoned us back into the room.

"So," I asked. "Do you know what you're going to name her?"

"Sumaji," said Ino, not taking her eyes off her daughter. She finally tore her eyes away from the child and looked up at Shikamaru. "Sumaji Nara."

The boys left to see Chouji, who had just arrived, and Ino suddenly started to laugh.

"Oh Sakura," she said. "I'm so happy."

"She's beautiful, Ino," I said to her. She laughed again.

"I know. I think she's going to look like her father, though….And while we're on the subject of her father…Shikamaru just asked me to marry him!"

"_What?_" I asked, for the second time that day.

She laughed some more.

"I know! Sakura, I love him so much, I love this baby so much, it just seemed right, you know?"

"Yes," I said, smiling. "That's so great, Ino. Congratulations."

Another laugh.

"I want to get married to him as soon as possible. Just plan it, and _bam_, it's done."

I laughed. "That sounds like you and Shikamaru, yes."

"And I want to hold Sumaji through the whole thing," she said, caressing her daughter's cheek. She sighed and closed her eyes. "You know what, Sakura," she said softly. "_This _is what we live for. This is what we have been living for…this _one _moment." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, she looked tired and her face was red, but she could not have looked more beautiful. "It's incredible, Sakura."

I smiled. "It must be."

The day seemed to pass in a blur. I was so happy for my friend, and at the same time, I wanted what she had. A baby, a husband…the life I coveted.

I said nothing to Naruto, but I think he got the point. Honestly, I think he wanted it too. I spent most of the day with Ino, talking about the baby, about Shikamaru, the wedding, and anything else we could come up with. When it got late and she went to sleep, Naruto and I spoke with Shikamaru for a moment.

"Congratulations, really," said Naruto, giving his friend a short hug. Shikamaru smiled.

"Thanks for coming. It really meant a lot to us."

"We're very happy for you," I said, taking Naruto's hand.

"Thank you…but now comes the hard part. Actually being a parent."

I laughed. "I bet you're a wonderful dad, Shikamaru." He smiled gratefully at me and nodded.

"I don't know. I feel like I'm going to break her whenever I hold her..."

We said our goodbyes and Naruto and I strode home. We were mostly silent, thinking about Shikamaru and Ino, but then it began to rain. We ducked under the nearest shelter and stood there for a while.

Suddenly, Naruto turned to me and kissed me fervently.

After a moment, I pulled away and looked at him quizzically. He laughed.

"I've never made out in the rain," he said. "Isn't that something you see in every cheesy romance movie? You can't tell me you don't want to."

"Well maybe I already _have _made out in the rain," I teased. "And you're just so inexperienced."

He kissed me again, harder.

"Yes, I am," he said, his face close to mine, his voice husky and low. "Teach me."

I smiled and kissed him back.

I don't know how long we spent out there, but by the time we were done, we were both soaked to the bone and shivering.

He pulled away from me and held me, his lips so close to my ear, I could hear his every breath.

I waited for him to say it – to him to ask –

"Sakura," he whispered. "Let's – let's-"

I closed my eyes, my answer ready.

"-let's go home."

I stopped, and looked at him. He stared at his shoes.

"…okay."

It was dark by then. We walked home in silence. I had been so sure, _so sure _he was going to ask me…what went wrong?

When we got home, Naruto went straight into our room. I talked to Sasuke a while, telling him about the new baby. I promised him I would ask Shikamaru and Ino if he could stop by later to see them. He seemed genuinely happy for them and I was happy he felt that way. Before I followed Naruto into the bedroom, I have him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "I don't care if it makes me sound like a mom," I sighed, my arms around him. "I'm proud of you."

He smiled, and I let go of him and went into the bedroom. Naruto was standing at one of the dressers, hand on the drawer handle, like he had just closed it. His eyes were closed. He looked so sad, standing there, all alone. I went over to him and rested my head on his back, putting my arms around him.

"What's up, baby?" I asked him quietly.

He turned around and put his arms around me.

"Nothing, Sakura."

We held each other for a moment longer, then slowly and silently got undressed and slipped into bed.

You were so close, Naruto, I thought. So close.

But you didn't do it.

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Man, I absolutely LOVEE this chapter. Poor Sakura. SHE'S SO ALONE :D

Come on, guys, reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

A few days later, after I had talked to Ino and Shikamaru, and she had returned to her place, Naruto and I took Sasuke to see Sumaji. I think Sasuke mostly wanted to catch up with the two of them, although he did seem to be very happy about the baby.

We talked with Ino and Shikamaru for most of the time. Sasuke explained what had happened, and we got the initial reaction from Shikamaru at first. He was distrustful of Sasuke, then got more used to him, and there it was – they were friends.

Another example of just how much Sasuke had changed.

Anyway, we left around noon and went out to have lunch together. Naruto was strangely quiet, but Sasuke made up for him.

"That's so weird, I just seriously cannot get over how weird that is, I mean, I never really saw Ino as growing up, and I definitely never saw her as a mother."

I laughed. "That's the same thing I said when I heard."

He smiled at me. "This is so cool. It's like, I was taken out of time for fifteen years, and suddenly I'm launched back in, and here's all this happening, and I – I don't know, it's just awesome."

I looked at him, smiling.

"So Sasuke," I said. "I wanted to ask you…is there any really specific reason you came back?"

He looked at me for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I was just done with everything that had happened, and, I think I wanted to be a kid again, and I thought if I came back here, where I grew up, then I might have a chance-"

"Wait, Sasuke," I said, grinning. "You didn't grow up here. You spent more time wandering around randomly than living here."

He laughed and shrugged. "I guess so. But still, this is my hometown. Where I was born – where my, however brief, childhood was spent."

I suddenly remembered something Naruto had told me about. It was silent for a moment, then I asked softly, "Did you ever get him? Your brother?"

He stiffened slightly.

"He was dead by the time I found him," he said harshly. "It was a few years after I left. I don't know who killed him. I've heard people say that he actually killed himself. I don't know. But I couldn't come back. My dream, my goal, the _one thing_ I was living for was finished. And I didn't even do anything."

I took his hand.

"That's so sad, Sasuke," I said. "You didn't even get to talk to him?"

"I didn't need to talk to him," he said coldly. "I needed to kill him."

"Why? You killed lots of people, people I love, and yet I don't need to kill you."

"I didn't kill _everyone_."

"And that makes it any better?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"No, it doesn't. But it's different with him, you know? He was my own brother."

"You were a brother to me."

I had almost forgotten Naruto was there. He was staring into his cup of tea, his brow furrowed, thinking hard. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, then shrugged.

"But you weren't flesh and blood. I don't think you can quite understand what he put me through. I lost _everything_. Naruto, no offense, but you never really _had _anything, and Sakura…well, you've always had Naruto."

"Still. If you needed to kill your brother, why is it that Naruto or I don't have to kill you?"

"Because you aren't like me," he said. "You were never like me. I always had to do something, nothing was ever enough."

"Sasuke," I said. "You have a terrible life."

"Thanks," he said, with a small smile.

Ino and Shikamaru set the date for the wedding as about a month later. Like she had told me, Ino just wanted it done.

Everyone was so excited for her; being as small a village as we are, a marriage is usually something that pretty much everyone knows about. Ino was getting her own little scandal, marrying after she had had their baby, but for the most part, everyone was just glad they were finally officially getting together.

The night before the wedding, Naruto and Sasuke left early for Shikamaru's bachelor party (Ino had decided she just wanted to be with her family). I was alone in the house, trying on my bridesmaid dress, trying to fix my hair into something that actually looked good.

Eventually, though, I flopped down on Naruto and I's bed and read a random cliché romance novel until I fell asleep.

I woke up when the boys came in through the front door. It was pretty late, and Sasuke was clutching his head.

"Hey guys," I said. "Have fun?"

Sasuke mumbled something and fell down on the couch. Naruto smiled slightly and followed me back into our room. "I think he had a little much to drink."

"Ah," I said, smiling. "So, what'd you do?"

"Eh, the usual," he said, shrugging. "Lots of alcohol, loud music, games…it was alright."

"Aw, you're such a party pooper," I said, laughing. "Did Sasuke like it?"

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "He liked it too much. He's a pretty good dancer, though."

"No!" I said. "Sasuke! A good dancer! Who'd have guessed?"

Naruto laughed.

"I think Shikamaru ditched us around ten. Everyone kept partying though, they were having way too much fun."

Not much later, we got to sleep.

The next day, the real fun began.

I was the maid of honor, with Hinata and Tenten as bridesmaids. Chouji was Shikamaru's best man, and Naruto was one of the groomsmen.

The ceremony was simple enough, but Ino was absolutely glowing – I've never seen her more happy. She did indeed hold Sumaji through the whole thing, and the whole party let out a collective '_aww' _when she and Shikamaru kissed. The reception was even more beautiful – it was completely perfect.

And then we went home.

Well, Naruto said he was going to stay a little later and help clean up. I gave him a kiss and left.

Sasuke was reading something, and when I entered, he looked at me once, then did a double take.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked casually.

"He's still at the wedding. My feet are killing me, I've been in stilettos all day," I said nonchalantly, sitting down and slipping off my shoes.

"Ah. Did you have a good time?" he asked.

I laughed. "Yes, it was wonderful…" I paused, then continued, "You know, I'm really surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Oh yeah. I always thought it would be Naruto and I first. I don't know, it seemed to make sense that Ino would be _my _maid of honor first. It's just weird."

He nodded vaguely.

"So what are you reading?" I asked, scooting a little closer to him to peek over his shoulder at the book.

He shrugged. "Nothing much."

Before he could say anything more, a cat loudly began to mewl at the window. I whipped around (I hate cats) and accidently knocked Sasuke's book out of his hands.

When I turned back, I automatically bent down to pick it up, but so did he. We ended up bumping heads, and neither of us actually got to the book.

Instead, we ended up look at each other, out faces a quarter of an inch apart. The intensity of his gaze made me want to look away, but I just kept looking at him.

And then, for some reason, I kissed him.

And he kissed me back.

All the time I was kissing him, I kept thinking, this is wrong, this is wrong, I love Naruto, not Sasuke, what am I doing, I'm screwing up…

I was going to stop in a moment, I seriously was. I was going to stop, and tell Sasuke this was wrong, and that I was not going to do this.

But then the door opened.

I suddenly was aware that I was sitting on top of Sasuke, and that his hands were under my dress, and my hands had snaked up to press against his chest.

All this in the nanosecond it took me to look up and see Naruto standing in the doorway, looking stunned.

I could not move a muscle. I don't think I even registered this was happening.

Naruto spread his hands out. "What is this?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't, until I felt Sasuke's hand move under my dress. I was off him in a second, but before I said anything, Naruto was over there, and he grabbed Sasuke by the collar and wrenched him off the couch.

"Get out," he said, shoving him towards to door.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"_I don't care_!" screamed Naruto. He closed his eyes, shook his head and took a deep breath. "I don't give a damn, Sasuke. Just get out of this house."

Sasuke looked at me pleadingly. I opened my mouth again, but, suddenly, Naruto hit him. He punched him, hard in the jaw, then pointed to the door.

"Get. Out."

Sasuke stood still for a moment, then swung the door open and stormed out, slamming it behind him.

Naruto just stared at the door for a while, then finally turned to face me.

"Naruto," I said. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, it just happened, and I was going to stop, I was, I was going to tell him that I loved you and only you, and that's true, I could not love you more, and I-"

Naruto, his eyes closed, held up a hand to silence me.

"I don't care. I know what I saw. And I know that you didn't even _move _when I walked in. You didn't say anything. Then, when he finally left, _then_ you talked to me. What am I supposed to get from that?"

My vision blurred with tears.

"No – I'm sorry, I know it looks bad, but I just made a mistake-"

"I know you made a mistake," he said, opening his eyes. "But it was a big mistake, Sakura. And if you're going to make it again-"

"I'm not, I swear, I don't know what came over me-"

"Let me finish. If you're going to make another mistake, then maybe we need a little time. You know, just to…to see other people."

Even as he spoke, the words wrenched my heart out.

"I love you." His voice cracked. "I have heard you say you love me too. But that…that was too far with Sasuke. I trusted you. And, for some strange reason, I trusted him too."

"Naruto-"

"Stop it, Sakura," he said. His tone sounded angry, but if those were actual tears in his eyes, then he felt differently than his voice suggested. "Isn't this what you wanted? To be able to just be yourself with him again? To _touch _him again?"

"No – no-"

"_Do you know what I just saw, Sakura? _I saw the only woman I have _ever _loved, the woman I gave my _all _to, the woman who had told me again and again that she loved me, I saw her _with another man_. Not just any man either, hah, but _Sasuke Uchiha_. The _one _person who took away _everything _from me…now he's taken away you."

"Naruto," I pleaded. "Please stop it, please…it wasn't how it looked, I swear…please listen to me."

"I'm sick of listening, Sakura! I'm sick and tired of listening to people, I need to _do _something now…"

He stared at me for a moment, then turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait!"

I caught his arm.

"Naruto please…"

He stopped. I put one hand on his back.

"Don't go."

He shrugged me off.

"I'll come back for my things."

And walked out of the door.

I stood there, shocked, staring at the door.

How could this be happening? Naruto and I, we never had fights, _never_… this was impossible. It was always so easy, so perfect, so great with him…

Stupid Sasuke! This was entirely his fault. If he could have just contained himself, then I could have contained _myself_, and I wouldn't even be in this whole mess.

_Yes you would_, said a small voice in the back of my mind. _You kissed him first._

I heaved a huge sigh and flopped down on the couch, my eyes closed, just laying there.

But no. This was where Sasuke had slept, this was where he and I had messed up, the very _thought _of it made me nauseous…

I sprang back up and, knowing that I couldn't go to Naruto and I's room because it just wouldn't feel right without him, I sat at the kitchen table, crying.

I'm such an idiot, I thought. I love him. I love Naruto. What could have possibly compelled me to Sasuke? Was it because I had liked him as a child, and somehow some part of that had spilled over to now? My mind began to come up with rational reasons – that I was so tired from the day, that I had had a little too much to drink, I was bored, I somehow confused him with Naruto-

But I knew it wasn't right. None of these were right.

_What is wrong with me?_

I eventually fell asleep at the table, my head resting on my hands.

Naruto must have come back to get his stuff while I was still asleep, because when I woke up most of his belongings were gone. I slowly got up and meandered into our bedroom, where a small pile of things were left in the middle of the bed.

Pictures. A small collection of the poems he used to write me. Gifts…trinkets he had bought me whenever we came across something so hilariously artificial we couldn't let it pass. A hair ribbon…from our first kiss.

And, in the center of it all, a ring.

I picked it up. There was a note under it.

_'I was going to. Tonight. I'm sorry.'_

I stared at it.

…Naruto was going to…

_Tonight?_

I closed my eyes, thinking about how much of a huge idiot I was.

A few days passed. I didn't hear from either Naruto or Sasuke. I didn't really talk to anyone, but I tried to stay out of the house as much as possible. I didn't think I could take being in there too long.

A couple days after that, someone stopped me while I was walking back to the house, pretty late in the evening. Hinata, carrying some grocery bags, paused to talk to me with a concerned look on her face.

"Sakura," she said. "How are you?"

I shrugged. "Alright."

She nodded vaguely. "Kiba says he saw Naruto this morning."

"Really."

"Yes…he told me Naruto says you two aren't doing so well. Something about Sasuke Uchiha…?"

I sighed and nodded. "True."

"Well, how are you holding up? Is it that bad?"

I nodded again. "It's pretty bad. I made a stupid mistake-"

She made a face. "Oh. Yes, I thought it was something like that."

"What?"

"Well, there would be no other reason for you two to have a fight," she said reasonably. "You are perfect for him, and he is perfect for you."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks Hinata."

She was silent for a moment, then she added, "Kiba convinced him to talk to you. I don't know when or how he feels about it, but I'm sure that what needs to happen."

She gave me a one-armed hug and continued on her way.

I sighed.

And my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?" asked Naruto's familiar voice.

"Out," I replied, slightly shocked at the timing and suddenness.

"Can I meet you at the house?"

"Uh…yes," I said uncertainly.

"Good."

"Naruto-"

He hung up.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the phone, then continued home. Naruto was already there when I opened the door.

He stood up, strode over to me and put his arms around me.

"Man," he murmured. "I came _thisclose _to forgetting how good it feels to touch you."

I smiled in spite of myself and returned to embrace.

"I'm sorry," he continued. "I never should have walked out on you, I was jealous, and stupid…"

"No," I said. "You were completely rational. It's my fault."

He stood there silently, holding me.

"I'm sorry too," I said softly. "I don't know, maybe I was just being an idiot…I don't want to see him again, Naruto. I don't want to have anything to do with Sasuke ever again."

"Hmm," he replied gently. "That might be a problem." At my look, he smiled a tiny smile and said, "I'm not sure how I can explain this to you…but here you go. I _still _see Sasuke as a brother, for some odd reason. Someone I can't part with, someone who'll always be a part of _me_, no matter what happens. A friend, I wouldn't have been able to forgive. A brother, I have to."

"After what happened? I don't even trust myself with him."

Naruto shrugged. "I think it was a mistake. I think you deserve another chance."

"I don't deserve anything from you."

He smiled and held me again. "I also think that that's _my _decision, Sakura."

I couldn't hold back a smile.

I paused for a moment, then said, "I have something of yours."

Taking his hand, I pressed the ring into it. He frowned for a moment, then smiled.

"Oh Sakura," he muttered. "This isn't mine. Not anymore."

"…what?"

Still holding my hand, he slid down to one knee.

"Oh my God," I said, putting a hand to my forehead. "Naruto…oh my God."

He laughed and said, quietly, "Sakura Haruno…will you marry me?"

Tears quickly coming to my eyes, I pressed a hand against my mouth and nodded.

Naruto slipped the ring on my finger.

I let out a little sob of joy as Naruto straightened up to kiss me again. "I figure," he said. "That if we can get through this, we can get through anything."

I nodded, still half-shocked, half-ecstatic.

"That was sudden," I said finally, still in his arms. He laughed.

"No, it wasn't. I've been tried to pluck up the courage to say those four words to you for almost a month now. I was going to ask you when we got to the beach – remember, before Sasuke came – and then when that didn't work, it felt weird to ask with him in the house."

I smiled. "Well, I should have figured it out."

"Nah," he said. "I thought I was being pretty subtle."

I laughed. "All my friends thought you couldn't have been more obvious."

He laughed again, then kissed my lips, then my face, then my neck. My arms around his neck, we stumbled to the bedroom, then toppled onto the bed, and it felt like we were eighteen again, and starting all over, it felt like our first time…

Early that next morning, when we were still half asleep, but tangled up in each other, he put his lips close to my ear and whispered, "You know I just want you to be happy, baby."

I smiled and took his hand.

"I _am _happy."

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Okay, yeah, you can pretty much consider this the end of the story. I doubt I'll ever really write more, because, you know, I don't actually watch Naruto anymore (or even like it, for that matter).

Buuuuuut, if you beg enough in your reviews, I MIGHT write a LITTLE more. Maybe an epilogue...lol.


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